Running Rings
by DgShadowChocolate
Summary: I couldn't help but notice the new kids. I mean, look at them! Blue Hair! Red Eyes!  White Gloves! Just who or what are they?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Oh hi. Well, you must be here for the story huh? Most people are, though I don't get why. It's not like they believe me. They should. What I'm about to tell you is utterly and completely, and irrevocably true.

…no, I'm not in love with a vampire, so stop giving me that look.

Anyway, you'd best get comfortable; this might take a while.

Normally, I can't remember things to save my life, but that day, the beginning of my life changing forever, I'll never forget. All day in school I'd been hearing the whispers. _Did you see them? One is in my class! I know right? Could you believe his hair? Wow, he was so hot!_

In case you couldn't tell, our humble little High School just got three new students. Normally, this isn't a big deal. But with these three…you'll soon see what I mean. Oh yeah, you don't even know who I am. Sorry.

In a nutshell, my name is Elise; brown, unmanageable hair, blue eyes, short for someone who's seventeen, and easily described as weird. (Most would say eccentric, but really, I'm weird; don't be jealous.)

So, walking towards my third hour class and listening to other kids, mostly girls funnily enough, gabble about three new students was making me a bit irritated. _For the love of flip!_ I thought. _You'd think we'd have better things to talk about than some person's hair! I'd rather take Twilight-Boy-Crooning over this!_

I was well aware that I was carrying Twilight in my backpack at the time. But, in thinking those thoughts, I had the weirdest feeling that I might eat my own words later. I pushed the thought out of my head and adjusted my heavy backpack.

I opened the door to English and gratefully plopped my backpack on the floor next to my desk. Lugging a large sketchbook and art necessities around does weigh me down. After writing and correcting the daily sentence, I yanked out the over-large sketchbook, my drawing pencil, and my trusty Pokédex.

What? You'd be surprised how much fun it is to draw Pokémon as heavily muscled humanoids!

The rest of the class trickled in, talking about the new students, surprise, surprise. Rolling my eyes, I kept sketching. The tardy bell rang. The door opened. The class was suddenly silent. The teacher primly cleared her throat. I looked up…and froze.

Remember when I said I might eat my words? Well, in that moment when I looked up and saw who was standing at the front of the class…I started eating. They didn't taste that good either.

"Everyone," our teacher called out, "This is Silvester Hedgeland. He and his brothers just moved here."

"Hello." Silvester smiled nervously.

_Holy…FLI−wha-ta?_ (Holy Flip! What the?)

I was that shocked.

Silvester was average height, with light skin and a cute, boyish face. That was pretty much the only thing that was normal about him however. He wore a metallic gray short-sleeved jacket with a bright turquoise pattern and a lot of white faux fur around the collar. Underneath the jacket was a black long-sleeved shirt that matched his tight black pants. Thick gold bracelets adorned his wrists and covered the cuffs of the white gloves on his hands.

Gloves. _Gloves and bracelets._ Hmmm…

Those same bracelets encircled the rims of Silvester's boots. His black, white-stripe-down-the-middle, turquoise-tipped, with-a-little-pink-jewel-in-the-front, boots.

But all of that was nothing compared to the two most eye-catching things I'd ever seen.

His hair was silver. Not faded, not gray or white, a pure shiny metallic silver. _His hair was silver!_ And long! Hair fell back behind his shoulders, flowed down his back, and rested nearly to his thighs! The only time I'd ever seen hair _longer_ than that was on a guy who swung an impossibly long sword and wanted to destroy the world. In a video game. And in a following animated movie.

All of it was incredibly straight, except for the five funny little tufts that stood up on his forehead and stuck out in different directions. But looking down to his face, I easily forgot the wardrobe and hair style, and maybe what day it was; I can't remember.

His eyes, Silvester Hedgeland's eyes, were bright gold.

Moving carefully, I guiltily pushed Twilight deeper into my bag with my foot. _He's wearing contacts,_ I thought to myself frantically. _Just gold colored contacts. They exist._

Silvester smiled that nervous smile once more and sat down three rows to the left of me. I couldn't help but notice, gawking at him like an idiot and not paying attention AT ALL to the lesson, that Silvester was acting…strange. He was running his hand over his right ear repeatedly. The expression on his face was something close in incredulity or disbelief. Like he couldn't get used to having ears on either side of his head. I wondered idly if I really was insane as we continued where we had left off yesterday. In between Edgar Allen Poe's lines of gloom, doom, horror, and death, I continued sketching. But throughout the entire hour, I pondered only one thing.

How in the world did Silvester get past the dress code?

* * *

Subconsciously decided to be a filthy hypocrite, I watched Silvester like a hawk in the few minutes before the end of class. He was chatting to the crowd of girls that had swarmed him with questions, the poor guy. It was fairly obvious that he was uncomfortable with all the attention, but smiling painfully, Silvester continued talking. He looked really insecure.

Suddenly, he was staring at me through the gap of giggling girls. Caught, I gave him my friendly smile and nodded my head. Silvester blinked in surprise and nodded back, if a bit awkwardly. I looked away and gathered up the last of my things as the bell rang. The usual flood of teens on the way to lunch flowed out the door as I began the 'Stuff the Backpack' ritual.

"Too much stuff, too much stuff." I sourly chanted under my breath. I grumbled about it every day, but never really did anything about it; I kept forgetting. Finally getting the zipper to close, I slung the backpack over my shoulder and turned to the door.

Wonder of wonders! I wasn't the last person to go like I usually was. Silvester Hedgeland was fiddling with a small drawstring pack of navy blue. Slowly walking to the door, I debated on whether I should say something to him or not. Yes, I'll admit it; for all my outspoken-ness, I'm shy. It's embarrassing.

"Um, hey uh…"

I looked down in to two golden pearls. Up close, Silvester's eyes seemed a lot bigger and brighter than most, like an anime character. I blamed the contacts I knew he must be wearing. Several strands of long platinum hair slipped from over his shoulder and hung in space as he tilted his head. This coupled with the questioning look made him looked like a little lost puppy.

I have a huge soft spot for puppies.

I tucked some stubborn hair behind my ear and smiled. To be honest, I was glad that he'd spoken to me. He seemed pretty interesting, all awesome clothes and hair aside.

"Hi, what's up?"

"Um, do you know where the…uh, the cafeteria is? The map sort of confuses me and…"

His voice sounded a lot younger than a high school student, but in a cute way. I glanced down farther to see a wrinkled school map held in one gloved hand. I made a mental note to ask him about those later when I had the chance. I also wondered randomly if he was gay, which wouldn't bother me in the slightest. I knew a few who were like that, and their way of dressing was somewhat similar, minus gloves.

"Confused huh? Well, you and me both brother. I've learned to never trust those things. Follow me."

Silvester scrambled after me as I flipped down the door latch with my foot and pushed open the door.

"You see, what I do is either ask someone who most likely will know, or just follow the crowds." I gabbled over my shoulder. "But when classrooms are involved, I just follow the numbering system."

I like to talk. A lot. No shame.

Silvester caught up and walked beside me, silver hair swinging back and forth. I pushed back the small twinge of annoyance I felt when I noticed that he was a good three or four inches taller than me. Nearly _everyone_ was taller…

"Numbering system?" He asked as we turned around a corner, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. For example, if you know where room 15 and 17 are, you'll have a good lead on guessing where room 22 is. Get it?"

"Oh…I see. But what about if−"

"_WHAAAAAAAAHHHH!_"

The full-throated yell bounced off the school walls. The teens around us barely turned their heads, being so used to this. Silvester, on the other hand, jumped and stared over his shoulder.

"What was−?"

"Hold that thought; I need to take this call."

I casually stepped around the guy and filled my lungs.

"_WHAAAAAAAAHHHH!_"

From the corner of my eye, I saw Silvester jump again. I mentally winced as I realized that, once again, I didn't exactly _think_. It's good to remember that showing a new person the way I communicated with my friends five minutes into our first conversation wasn't the best way to build a good impression for myself. But the damage was done. I gave him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that. One of my friends was looking for me. Ah, yes…"

To gloss over the awkward situation, I placed my hand on a shocked Silvester's shoulder and turned him around.

"You see all those kids over there?" I pointed down the hall to a large, yammering column of teens in a line. Silvester nodded.

"That's the lunch line. It looks deadly, but don't worry! You'll survive."

I was joking like I always do, but the humor didn't do its job in wiping away the spooked expression. The poor guy looked terrified. I was positive that the sudden 'Whaah'-ing, and the mass of students that looked more like a stampede than a line, had metaphorically knocked Silvester off of stable ground. And truth be told…I didn't like to see the fear in his large eyes. A sudden wave of protectiveness came over me, inexplicable, but potent.

"Hey…" I patted his back until he looked at me. Underneath my fingers, I noticed that the silver strands had a different texture than normal hair. It was harder, sharper…

Silvester turned his head, the tufts on his forehead swaying. In those wide eyes, I saw barely hidden panic flickering in the gold. It reminded me so strongly of myself when I was insecure. I moved my hand back to his shoulder; the muscles were tense beneath the fabric. I smiled softly.

"It'll be ok."

The corner of his mouth twitched. I grinned and thumped him on the back. I pretended not to hear the breath whoosh out of his lungs. "We'll, I'll see you later Silvester!"

I'd started back down the hall in the general direction of the bandroom when−

"Wait!"

I turned to see him standing there in the middle of the hallway with a small, but genuine, smile on his face. "I didn't get your name."

I smiled back. "My name's Elise."

* * *

**!PAUSE!**

_Hi. Before I continue, I'd just like to say that I do not talk in my sleep, and I did not dream of Silvester the following night. Actually, I did dream about a demon/psycho killer named 'Necks' who was going to cut off my head with a hacksaw, but that's not the point! The point is, that's the wrong story, but I can get you tickets for the next showing. Okay. Sorry. Just had to get that out there. Moving on…_

**!UN-PAUSE!**

* * *

"Did you see his eyes?"

"No actually. I was doing my best to avoid those."

"I was getting an eyeful of the rest of him. In case you didn't notice, that boy is smokin' hot!"

"Chelsea, don't you have a boyfriend?"

"Yes."

"…oi."

…Which was what I heard as I entered the room. Unlike most, my friends and I ate lunch in the bandroom. The advantage to this was 1, elbow room, and 2, you could be your true self without being self-conscious.

I immediately guessed what everyone was talking about. "Which one?" I asked, dropping my backpack with a thud and a '_Duke, sit!_', and following suit. Maddie and Carissa, two of my best brunette friends, exchanged looks while Chelsea, blond and vivacious, cackled. I rolled my eyes and waited. I could only stand boy-talk if I was surrounded by my friends. Biased, I know. Still no shame. Haha!

Maddie leaned forward, lowering her voice slightly. "Shane Hedgeland. Chelsea and I have him in second hour."

_Silvester's brother._ I thought, nodding my head in interest. "Well, aside from the obvious details from Chelsea, what's he like?"

"I have no idea." Chelsea piped in, looking eager and serious at the same time. "He's frickin' scary! I was nervous just being in the same room with him!"

I frowned, pausing in the act of peeling away the plastic from my Cup of Noodles. That didn't sound anything like Silvester. Maddie was nodding in agreement, eyes wide and grim. "Yeah, he barely spoke at all during class, and when he looks at you…"

She gave an uncharacteristic shudder and pulled the history textbook at her feet closer. It took quite a bit to be able to scare Maddie, brave as she was. "If looks could kill."

My frown deepened and I looked at Carissa, silently asking a question. She caught my gaze above her goulash and nodded. I raised my eyebrows in confusion and stood up.

_Not really what I was expecting._ I mused, walking to the bathroom to add water to my noodles. The mental picture in my head didn't completely match up; the nice Silvester versus the scary brother of doom.

…okay, that's being a little judgmental, something I strive not to do. Besides, the main reason things weren't adding up was because I hadn't met this…Shane yet.

Striding back and sticking my ramen in the microwave, I decided to wait before I settled on an opinion. In a school this size, I was bound to meet him.

* * *

**Author's Note: And thus, Running Rings has begun! Who is this mysteriously intimidating Shane? Will Elise ever unpack her over-large backpack? And just why did she name it Duke?**

**All will soon be revealed!**

**Read and Review please. **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"_So, did you two do alright?"_

"_Peh, obviously. I hate school on principle, but the open country here is worth it! Lots of space, just the way I like it!"_

"_Don't you dare let it slip in your mediocre brain the absolute importance of secrecy! Our situation is already on shaky ground as it is! If you cause as much as sighting−"_

"_Yeah, yeah, all heck breaks loose, humanity freaks out; I know! You're not the only one who knows what they're like."_

"_Start acting like it then. The last thing I need is for you to screw this up…as usual!"_

"_What's that supposed to−?"_

"_Guys! Calm down, both of you! Too much noise and someone will come knocking."_

"…_right."_

"_Hmmph."_

"_Ok, so let's do this right, and by the book. Starting with the algebra book…"_

"_Wait, what? Aren't we on an über important mission here? Why do I have to do homework?"_

"_We need to keep up appearances you know."_

"_Unless you can't hack it, fa−"_

"_SHUT UP! I can graph equations faster than YOU can!"_

"… _(sigh), that's the spirit you guys. We'll start the search as soon as we're done here."_

"_What does the little 'x' mean again?"_

* * *

I'm short.

No, really, I am. I've mentioned it before and I've made it known how _annoying_ it is to be seventeen and to be the same height as a middle-schooler. I'm short.

But sometimes it's an advantage.

For example, if a marauding axe-man visits your house when your parents aren't home, your small-ness in height and your thin-ness in stature can help you to quite easily and comfortably hide in your laundry room dryer until he goes away.

…yeah. Anyway

The day after I'd met Silvester Hedgeland, I was quickly walking down the hall to my first class. My friends Maddie and Ryan had gone ahead as I'd stopped by my locker for that flipping heavy History Textbook. Adjusting Duke-the-Backpack so the weight wasn't dragging at my shoulder, I approached the corner.

Cliché as it may sound, it all happened very fast.

I stopped to look at a poster on the wall. Angry shouting and a burst of laughter emanated from the adjacent hallway. There were rapid footsteps. I turned and

Something blue erupted into the air over my head, moving so fast I could only make out what was closest to me; the bottom of a sneaker, blue jeans, something that vaguely looked like arms, followed by a streak of white surrounded by a whirl of blue.

Whoever it was touched down four feet or so behind me and dashed away so quickly, their figure was blurred; which was an amazing thing to do in crowded school hallways.

This all happened in about three to four seconds.

On the fifth second, I could hear more [thunderous] footsteps coming closer. My school survival instincts, first developed in kindergarten and polished in Junior High, kicked in and I threw myself against the wall. Just in time.

Three huge Seniors pounded around the corner, looking furious and ready to tackle something like the linebackers I knew they had to be. Since I had no idea who they were, I just mentally gave them random names.

"Where is he?" Panted 'Tank'.

None of them noticed the diminutive Junior plastered to the wall next to them. Advantage to short-ness number two.

"There he is!" 'Starscream' pointed a beefy arm down the hallway.

I followed the limb and saw a blue smudge clear at the other end of the hall. _How in the world…?_

'Mad Max' just snarled as the three tore down the hall, scattering terrified Sophomores out of the way.

(I would decide later that I should take a break from Laser Tag if those names were all I could come up with.)

I mechanically peeled myself away from the wall and continued to first hour in a daze. _What just happened?_

Even though I was fairly short by normal standards, a person being able to leap five feet into the air with and extra foot to spare was pretty impressive. And not only that, I doubted that Olympic Hurdle Jumpers could do it with that much grace. It was like watching a jungle cat bounding over your head; which pointed out advantage number three to being short. But how was he I decided it was a boy − able to do it? And more importantly, how did he move so fast? How can you possibly be a blur while jumping for Pete's sake?

I was so busy puzzling over this that I walked _into_ the class door and not through it.

Rubbing my forehead and assuring a laughing teacher that I was fine, I took my seat and opened Duke-the-Backpack. Writing down notes during class, I was struck with a sudden thought. _This school is starting to get a little weird._

I grinned.

* * *

"Have I met you before somewhere?"

I jumped, the lines from my pencil zigzagging away off balance. I looked up from my sketchbook to see Silvester staring at me and I jumped again. I didn't expect him to be so close! His hands were gripping my chair and my desk, his arms bent, leaning him forward. His face was a little under a foot away from mine, his eyes watching my every move.

It was still a surprise to see how large they were. Gold, deep, and shining. No trace of contacts…

His face was very serious, as if the question he'd sharply blurted at me was a matter of life and death. Silver strands of hair spilled onto the half-completed dragon on my desk, curling over the graphite lines. His forehead was scrunched with emotion above his swirling eyes.

I read confusion and uncertainty, mixed with something…else in those eyes.

I leaned back slightly, trying to get a grip on myself. Sometimes it's just suckish to be a teenager.

"Uh…eh?" I replied stupidly.

Silvester face didn't change. If he saw how awkward I was feeling, he ignored it. In fact, he leaned even closer.

"Have we met before?" He repeated, slower and quieter. His eyes were intense, searching mine as if I was holding a secret from him and he was determined to find. My stomach dropped; no one had ever looked at me like that before, but I answered truthfully.

"No. I'd remember if we did."

Confusion raged with sudden uncertainty. His eyes tightened and glazed over, staring at something miles away. He looked down at the desk, his shoulders hunched and his teeth clenched. It was such a lost, desperate look, that I nearly asked if he was alright. But before I could do anything, Silvester straightened up, pushing his long hair over his shoulder. I noticed that he was wearing the same clothes as yesterday.

Silvester looked down at me through a mask of calm.

"I'm sorry," he said, sounding oddly formal. "Your name was really familiar to me. It must have been someone else."

He quickly walked back to his seat. I watched him go. Blinking rapidly, I looked around and saw everyone sitting near gaping at me. They all quickly looked away.

I sat there staring at me sketchbook until the bell rang. The class erupted into the usual noise as I quietly gathered up my things. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a ripple of silver flash out the door. I leaned back my head and sighed, rubbing my neck. I was trying to not let the whole experience bother me but…

Duke swung heavily over my shoulder, sliding on my striped jacket. I adjusted the backpack with a little hop and walked to the door.

I felt low, somber even. I'd been struck with that urge to comfort Silvester when I saw his eyes locked in turmoil. I wanted to…to _help_ or something! I sighed, flipping some hair away from my eyes. There went my good mood. It certainly didn't help that I had no idea why I felt this way.

The moment the door closed behind me, I heard it.

"_I'm going to pound you into a pulp you *_bleep*!"

"Ha! You gotta catch me first!"

It was the hunting call of a seriously hacked-off 'Tank' chasing his prey. I stupidly froze in the middle of the hall as explosive footsteps and not-so-mild profanity came closer. I didn't have time to blink before someone came skidding around the corner, shoes squealing against the tile. A wild, waving mane of bright blue hair fanned around his face, which was smirking over his shoulder.

I started to nervously step back as the boy shot toward me with a burst of speed. Shamefully, that was the best I could do with my mind jumbled up so much. The boy was still looking behind himself. Coming closer. _Quickly_.

"Is that the best you got? Well you're all too slo−GAH!"

He looked forward and yelped, finally noticing the random innocent girl standing less than two feet in front of him.

All I had time to do was yell, "GAH!" too, because I was going to get mowed over by this guy and there was nothing I could do about it.

* * *

**Author's Note: Yay! The second chapter is here after such a warm welcome!  
Coming up next- Will Elise escape the horrible bruises awaiting her? Is Silvester really wearing contacts? Will Shane ever come into the picuter? Tune in next time! ^^**

**R&R please!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

He shouldn't have done it.

He _couldn't_ have done it.

…

He did it.

This speed-demon of a guy was one foot, _one foot_, away from me when he did it. Just before it happened, our eyes locked. Beneath that wild blue hair, I saw his eyes for the first time.

They were large, clear, and the brightest shade of green I'd ever seen in my entire life.

He jumped.

At point blank range, he jumped, sailing over my head with my eyes glued to him all the way. Right when he reached the apex, he curved, rolling into a summersault and−

With an almighty _WHUMP_, he landed flat on his back just behind me. Through the cringe-worthy impact, I could hear the breath flying out of him.

This all happened in four seconds or so. I wasn't exactly counting.

So I was still standing there, staring at this boy like a total idiot, when reality came 'galumphing' around the corner. The seniors stood there panting as my head whipped around to face them.

"There-_pant-_he-_huff_-is-_wheeze!_" 'Starscream' rasped, hair stuck to his forehead with sweat. All three grimaced and started forward, obviously ready to put their threats to action. I looked back.

The boy hadn't moved. His muscles were tense and as I caught his eye, I saw the emotion and expression on his face.

It was easily described with the phrase, _"Oh crap!"_

He wasn't moving, the three homicidal seniors were still coming, and I was standing on the edge of a decision; stand aside, or do something. 'Mad Max' was closest to me, looking past me at his enemy. His squinty little eyes were murderous.

I exploded.

Duke thudded to the ground and I pounced, teeth bared, fingers open and curled, nails long and deadly. I voiced my attack as I sprang straight for 'Mad Max's' face.

"SCREE-AARGH-GRRAAWWR!"

(To give it justice, I have the ability to make loud animalistic noises in my throat. Think of a leopard-rabid-alien-angry-thing and you'd be close.)

'Mad Max' had enough time to shriek, "GAH!" before I was on him.

_Funny,_ I thought to myself, _how everybody is yelling that today._

I landed on his chest, scratching and hissing as the force of my offense sent us both crashing to the ground. He was squalling something, but it was meaningless noise in my ears as I slashed his forehead and pushed off, head-butting 'Starscream' in the stomach and back-kicking 'Tank', who had snuck up behind me.

I scrabbled away on all fours before they had a chance to recover. Loping like the cat I claimed to be, I snatched Duke, reverted to two legs, and grabbed the boy's arm.

"Wha−?" Was all he could say before I started booking it down the hall like demons were chasing us.

Which they…well, I was too scared to look.

However, I was faced with another problem; Where the heck was I going?

I was answered when, galloping down the hall with a superhuman acrobat in tow and three _REALLY_ hacked off seniors behind me, I saw two teens walking out of the auditorium doors.

The usually_ locked_ auditorium doors.

I lunged, yanking my cargo with me. The doors were nearly closed when I thrust forward a hand and caught it. From behind me something went, _fwoosh!_

And suddenly, I was on the auditorium floor. The door clicked shut just as the three walls of meat arrived. There was much pounding and yelling of death threats, but I did my best to ignore it.

"Hoo-wow! Thanks, you really saved my bacon there!"

I looked up to see a hand in my face, looming through the semi-darkness. Breathing hard, I took it without question and the boy hauled me to my feet. I could feel a soft cotton glove beneath my palm. I gave him a crooked smile and let go.

"Ah, twas a pleasure Mr. Hedgeland." I said with a slight British accent. He grinned back, cocking his head to side. I noticed, my eyes getting used to the dark, how his windswept hair bounced in one movement.

"You know my name?"

"I know your brother." I replied, bending over and picking up Duke, imagining irritated grumbles coming from the backpack. "I can see the similarity, so I guessed."

He chuckled, but before we could say anything more, distant shouting echoed close by.

"This is fun and all that." I said, switching from light to serious tones. "But we'd better get out of here. There's more that one way to get in here you know."

* * *

"Well, I'll see you later Scoots-Boy!" I half sang happily, ruffling the beagle ears of my dog Scooter. Scooter licked my hand urgently and stared up at me with soft chocolate eyes.

'_Oh fair maiden! Must our parting be now, filled with bittersweet joy? Sojourn with me and may we romp through the fields of late fall!'_

…ok, so he didn't actually say that, but I swear my beagle-border collie-mix was a Shakespearean romantic on the inside.

He kisses me enough to be one.

Doing my best to pull away from his powerfully sad eyes, I walked into my house and closed the front door. That little stinker; he totally knew that his sad face got to me every time!

"Hey honey, welcome back!"

"Hey Mom." I called back, slipping off my shoes. I could hear a mixer whirring, churning together what unmistakably smelled like−

"Pumpkin bread?" I gasped, standing in the entrance to the kitchen and drooling at the site of the speckled orange batter in the mixer. I was extremely partial to pumpkin bread, especially with chocolate chips. My mom smiled knowingly and nodded toward the four brown loaves cooling above the oven.

"I'm making some for us and some for the neighbors."

I smiled. Mom was cool like that. Just last month it was cookies. I had to help in dropping them off that time.

Leaving the mixer spinning, Mom ducked down to pull more bread pans out of the cupboard.

"So how was your day?"

The darker mood that Scooter and the pumpkin bread had chased away, slunk back into me at the question. Mom was still in the cupboard, so she didn't see me frown. How was I supposed to answer that question?

"It was fine." I said over the mixer's droning. It was my usual answer, and due to the mixer noise, Mom wouldn't hear anything odd in my voice, thank Hershey's. I felt Duke slip a bit and walked out off the kitchen and up the stairs to my room.

I closed the door and carefully walked to my bed. I say carefully because the place was a mess, again. I tried to keep it cleaner but…the mess kept coming back.

Plopping Duke on the floor, I fell face first onto my bed, burying my nose in my pillow.

It had been a good day, all things considered, but if I had to be honest with myself, it had ended on a very subdued note. I closed my eyes, remembering everything that happened during and after lunch.

The Hedgeland boy, since I still didn't know his name, had followed me out the auditorium doors, grinning like he didn't have a care in the world. I did.

After the initial excitement of the chase had worn off, a crucial detail had sunk in, sucking away at my mood and replacing it with shock and confusion. I hadn't entered the auditorium under my own power. I hadn't realized it at the time, but one second I was standing in front of the opening doors, and the next, I was on the floor on the inside. He couldn't have pushed me. I didn't feel him touch me.

And then there was that strange, _fwoosh_…

"You're right, that was fun!"

I stared at him, forgetting for a second what was bugging me.

A broad, cockily shiny smile was spreading across his face. His skin wasn't as fair as Silvester's; it was a tanned peach with a few freckles scattered around his pointy nose. My eyes moved upward.

Ho-ly-Cow, his eyes were _huge_!

And bright! It was like I was staring into emeralds− no! I'd seen perfectly cut and polished emeralds, and they were nothing compared to his eyes.

Eyes beneath blue eyebrows. Which reminded me…

Now that he was standing still and we weren't about to die a painful death, I could really take this kid in. He was tall and lean, looking like he was ready to run even though he wasn't moving. Minus the few strands hanging over both sides of his forehead, all of his hair fell backward from his scalp in a gentle curve down to the small of his back. But it wasn't floaty; each shimmering blue hair was stiff and set. And I still couldn't believe the _color_! No dye in the world had that color right? There was no way!

"What?"

I blinked, realizing with a surge of embarrassment that I'd been staring at his head for a long while with my mouth open. He was still smiling, but a bit smugly, like he knew exactly what I was itching to ask.

"Uh, no offense, but how many cans of hairspray do you go through every week?"

He blinked those green eyes in surprise, then threw his head back and laughed, putting his hands on his hips. The movement drew my attention to his clothes, which were unsurprisingly unique.

He wore basic blue jeans over funky looking sneakers I immediately liked; scarlet with a white strap and square coppery buckles. His blue t-shirt had a tan diamond stretching over his chest, hinting at strong, lean muscles on his torso and bare arms. Around his neck was a brown cord tied to a buckle that matched those on his shoes.

I wondered if he had to buy a second pair for that, but admired his style all the same.

The boy shook his head, still laughing. The royal blue mane rippled in the light and bounced as one. It was cool to watch.

"Wow, I haven't heard that one before! Seriously, where do they come up with this stuff?" He looked up at the ceiling, his shoulders shaking. There was something…different about the way he said that though.

"Nah, it just sits like that. I have no idea why." He winked with a toothy smile. "Maybe it's just awesome."

I couldn't help it. I grinned back. This guy was extremely likeable.

"Good point. I hope that not a lot of people are jealous of you."

"Ditto!"

"So," I began, scuffing my shoe against the tiled floor. A lot of kids passing by were staring at us. "What's your name again?"

He let his hands hang loose, the baggy cuffs of his white gloves rustling against his jeans, and offered his hand for a handshake. With another pearly-toothed smile and a slight wink, he answered.

"The name's Sam. What's yours?"

"Elise." I replied, shaking his hand. He had a warm, firm grip underneath the gloves. As our hands pumped up and down, I felt less shy by the second. Confidence was pouring off this guy in waves and it was pretty contagious.

Sam's eyes widened with such a level of surprise, it was almost funny.

"Elise huh? That's…a good name."

I did my best to keep the smile on my face while my stomach dropped. There was that emotion again, flaring up in Sam's green eyes. It was identical to Silvester's reaction to my name from the previous hour, but more intense; _really_ more intense. It was pretty clear that some 'Elise' these guys knew had had a large impact on them. But there were hundreds of Elises in the world, I was sure of it.

Why had these two acted so strongly to the name though?

"Sounds kinda familiar." Sam continued, staring off into space above my head. It wasn't exactly hard for him to do so, but right now it didn't bother me.

_Kinda? That's a bit of an understatement. _I thought before I realized that he was still holding my had. I carefully pulled back and he let it slip through his fingers. He barely seemed to notice. His large eyes were still wide, fixed on something I couldn't see, like he was trying to remember.

I was stuck; I didn't want to just walk off like our conversation was over, but I had no idea what to say. I was trapped in this indecision when he suddenly came out of it with a blink.

"Well, I'm sure I'll remember later!"

The random return to his good mood threw me for a second and I tilted my head. The confusing emotion in his eyes was still there, but more tamed and hidden. His grin seemed genuine however.

I struggled to find an answer quickly.

"Uh…ooo-kay. Uh," Sweet inspiration came in the nick of time! "Why exactly were those guys trying to horribly maim and/or kill you?"

Sam chuckled, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. Any hair that was flattened immediately bounced back up again.

"Ah that. Well, let's just say that I made a joke and they don't really have a sense of humor."

It was easy to imagine why.

"Speaking of which, thanks a lot! Not that I'm complaining, but why'd you jump in like that?"

I looked at him for a long while, mentally asking myself the same question.

"No reason." I truthfully said, shrugging. "It was just something I had to do."

I was trying, really trying to hide my suddenly pensive mood; confused, defensive, spooked, and generally freaked out. Sam saw through me. He dipped his head and looked me right in the eyes with a warm smile.

"Really, thanks for having my back. I'm glad you decided to help me."

He meant it, I could see it. It was in his smile and in his eyes, the green flickering like a flame.

I gave him a small smile, feeling a little better.

"_Sam!"_

I jumped and the moment shattered. Sam stiffened and looked over his shoulder, annoyance plain on his face. I anxiously peered around his chest. That voice…

I saw a flash of black in the crowd of teens.

Sam casually shifted his weight so he was standing in front of me again.

"Geez," I looked up in time to see Sam roll his eyes, his hair swaying from side to side. "I gotta go. You take care, okay?"

_What−?_

"R-right. Yeah. You too."

Sam smirked, gave me a two fingered salute…

…and practically disappeared.

Unbelievably, I was able to remember everything that happened at lunch. It replayed in my head for the rest of the day, giving subtle details the opportunity to become more obvious.

Opening my eyes, I rolled onto my stomach, holding my head as I stared at the ceiling. I'd given myself a headache, over thinking everything.

That voice, that deep voice that had practically barked Sam's name…

I didn't see him, but I had a hunch on who it was.

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry it took so long! I would've had this up several days ago, but catching the flue delays you a bit.  
Coming up next- Will Elise's headache go away? Will She ever realize that it's weird to name your backpack? And will the Author ever get to the point in this story? Find all this out and more in the next update! ^^**

**R&R please. :D**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"_Hey, you remember that girl I told you about? The one who helped me out?"_

"_Yeah, sort of. What about her?"_

"_I forgot to tell you her name."_

"_So?"_

"_Just how is this girl's name significant?"_

"_Her name's Elise."_

"…"

"…"

"_Brown hair, short, great sense of humor?"_

"_Uh, yes?"_

"_I met her."_

"_Really?"_

"_Yep. She got me out of a pickle too."_

"…"

"…"

"_I think I'll say it for everyone; things have gotten stranger."_

"_Mmn."_

"_Indeed."_

"_I don't know how to explain it, but something keeps niggling at me whenever I hear that name."_

"_And I as well."_

"_Is that the reason for the weird vibes yesterday?"_

"_Yes. It felt like there was something I forgot."_

"_Interesting. You know−"_

"_Interesting or not, it's irrelevant to us."_

"_What?"_

"_Oh come on! Don't pretend this doesn't bug you too!"_

"_Be that as it may, we have more important obligations to fulfill. Obligations which you always need to be reminded of!"_

"_Oh shut up. "_

"_Guys, please don't start tonight."_

* * *

I was losing my mind.

No, scratch that. I still had my mind, but it was dealing with something so crazy that I spent nights wide awake and days with fried nerves.

I was losing my _peace _of mind.

Despite my best efforts, I was obsessing over the Hedgeland boys, or 'the Hedgies' as people called them behind their backs. The first two weeks of me knowing them had passed, and I'd nearly had it! The unanswered questions were running rings around my head, leaving me dizzy, bad-tempered, and with a not-so-fun headache.

Trying to give myself some release, I got up late Sunday night and wrote down everything I saw and guessed in a huge list. I wrote for about half an hour then, by the light of my disco ball, I read through it, like reviewing for a test and adding little tidbits here and there.

It looked something like this.

*/*

HEDGELAND MYSTERY

SAM:  
Blue hair: Stiff, curved, shiny, natural?  
Green eyes: Large, round, too bright, contacts?  
Agility: Speed, super speed? Gymnastics  
Side Notes: Strong reaction to name ELISE, same outfit everyday, inhuman way of talking, non-human?

*/*

I didn't have any classes with Sam, but whenever I saw him, I tried my best to watch him closely; which was difficult. He never walked. He never even jogged. It was always a dead run. Everyday he was tearing up the hallways without one teacher seeing him. I wasn't sure if he was always in a hurry, or just enjoyed zooming around the place. Most likely the latter.

Whenever he saw me, he'd call out cheerfully and slow down enough for a few words before dashing off again. Sometimes he was a bright blue blur in a sea of brown and yellow heads. His speed and agility were always so amazing. At one point, I saw him bounce off the wall to vault over a large group of students blocking the hall.

I lost the following nights sleep over that little gem.

I shook my head, frowning, and looked down to the next segment of my notes.

*/*

SILVESTER:  
Silver hair: long, unusual texture: hard, sharp, natural?  
Gold eyes: large, contacts? Natural? round.  
Ability: Unusual. The Force?  
Side Notes: Strong reaction to the name ELISE, first Hedgeland contact, same outfit, ear rubbing.

*/*

Oh Silvester! The headaches never ended with him.

The day after he freaked out about my name, he treated me normally in class as if nothing had ever happened. He'd smile and chat and he would always volunteer to be my partner in group work. You could say we were almost friends. But from the corner of my eyes, I'd see him give that same searching look. It was short, but enough to also keep me up at night.

I'd noticed before how his hair felt to the touch, but last Wednesday the playing field was upped another notch.

Everyone in class was working on a tricky grammar worksheet in groups, so Silvester was my partner as usual. The lunch bell rang and everybody jumped up, eager to leave. I was reaching for a book as Silvester turned his head, his long silver hair whipping against my open hand.

Ten minutes later, three of my fingers were bleeding from slashes as small as paper cuts. I didn't feel a thing.

So I mused that Silvy-Boy had diamond coated hairspray or something…sarcasm.

And it didn't stop there! Two days ago, Silvester did something beyond belief. At least, I was pretty sure he did it. This was when my obsession was really getting out of hand, so I was staring at Silvester, just waiting for something to happen.

And happen it did.

The substitute teacher had to leave for a second, so the class went into the usual chatter. I was watching Silvester fiddle with his ears for the umpteenth time when the class idiot Randall started off.

"*bleep*, I hate that teacher! She's old enough to be *bleep*ing dead."

My eyes narrowed and I started snarling under my breath, but I kept focusing on Silvester, who had frozen in getting something out of his bag, and was looking at Randall.

"I mean, who wants to bet that the rag on that *bleeps* head would come off?" Randall drawled, ignoring the annoyed looks around him.

I took my eyes off Silvester long enough to glare at the trash mouth. "Shut up Randall. It's getting old!"

Randall rolled his eyes and kept talking. I looked back at Silvester, my hands clenched. I was two seconds away from chucking something at that kid's fat head when−

Silvester raised his hand, his palm facing Randall. He must've been wearing different gloves, because there was some kind of circle stitched on his palm…

"MMmph-WAAAWWWH!"

I whipped my head around. Randall was gagging, trying to spit out the white board eraser stuck in his mouth. The class erupted. Everyone was either shouting or laughing. Some were trying to help Randall get rid of the eraser. I slowly turned around.

Silvester was writing in a tablet, smiling a very smug smile.

I barely lasted through the weekend. My mother, bless her soul, distracted me by leading a massive revolution against my constantly dirty room, which lasted six hours…

I looked at the last, very small, section.

*/*

SHANE:  
Looks: unknown  
Characteristics: unknown  
Side Notes: Seems terrifying, deep voice? No contact.

Overview:  
SOMETHING'S NOT RIGHT HERE!

*/*

I tapped my pencil against Shane's name. The third 'Hedgie' was being very reclusive. I hadn't seen hair or hide of him ever since I met Sam. He probably had a schedule that constantly put him on the opposite side of the school from me, but still! Even at lunch, not a sign.

"And that's another thing," I whispered, leaning against my bed and watching flecks of light dance on the walls. "Do I want to meet him?"

Whenever I'd hear of Shane, it was always with some form of fear. I remembered Maddie, my brave friend Maddie, talking about Shane and looking seriously scared.

I yawned and turned off the disco ball. I was suddenly exhausted. Groping through the darkness, I crawled into bed, wrapping my arm around my stuffed dog Riley. Before I knew it, I conked out.

Hard. (And yes, at seventeen, I have a stuffed animal. WHAT NOW?)

* * *

"Where are you going?"

I looked back, my foot kicking open the door. It was lunch time and one of my newer friend, a tall boy named Colorado, was looking at me with a sad face. He'd been coming into the bandroom more and more lately, constantly sitting next to me, which made me wonder…

I smiled at his puppy dog eyes. "I'm just going to get a book. Dun worry," I added when he looked even sadder. Cute. "I'll be back soon!"

I was still grinning, walking down the hall to the library. Waking up from a fabulous sleep this morning, I decided that a healthy dosage of fiction was just what I needed. I was hedging between the Redwall Series and the Alex Rider series as I quickly entered the library.

Alex Rider won out. I quickly pulled _Ark Angel_ from the shelf, and was walking back to the checkout desk when I casually looked to the right.

I froze in horror.

'Starscream', 'Tank', and 'Mad Max' were standing there, talking in low voices. You could clearly see long, red scratches all over 'Mad Max's face. Feeling panicked, I rapidly stood behind a tall boy in a black jacket and buried my face in my book. '_Please don't see me! Please don't see me! Please don't−_'

"You!"

I flinched. '_Flip!_'

Three vengeful seniors were closing in on me, and I had nowhere to go. I gulped and saw out of the corner of my eye, the boy ahead of my shift in line. 'Mad Max' leered at me, the scratches on his ugly face not that pleasant to look at up close.

"You're in deep *bleep* girl." He hissed, pointing at his face. "I haven't forgotten what you did to me. And now you're going to pay!"

I was trapped and scared. For all the manic energy I had in me, I couldn't move. There would be no mercy. They were going to rip me apart−

Suddenly, they backed up looking surprised, and at the exact same moment, a hand came down on the top of my head. The grip was very firm. I could feel someone move up behind me, something fuzzy tickling the back of my head.

"Back off."

Oh man.

I'd heard that voice before. I flicked my eyes to the left. Beneath a red cuff, highlighted against black pants, was a white gloved hand clenched in a fist.

_Oh man!_

I had a morbid curiosity to know what Shane's face looked like. The three were looking terrified. 'Mad Max' was pale, but he took a step forward.

"You stay out of this Emo. It's n-none of your business."

The grip on my head tightened.

"I'm afraid you'll find it is my business. Now I'll say again; Back. Off."

How could one voice hold that much menace? The seniors shrank back, and I would've too except for the vice clamped around my head. I looked around again; All I could see was the front of his jacket; black with a red stripe down the middle, surrounding the zipper.

My head tilted and he swung me around to face the librarian, who hadn't noticed anything. I stammered my number and she checked out my book, deciding to not say anything about the boy holding my head. Then, still gripping my skull, Shane marched me out the library door.

His legs were longer than mine, so my pace was double-timed as we went down the hallway. People stared, some pointing us out to each other. There was a horribly awkward silence, for me at least, as he didn't say a thing while steering me forward. I took the plunge.

"Er, um…t-thank you for…well, for that."

He abruptly let go and I staggered forward. Certain spots on my temples started throbbing after so much pressure. I glanced up to see Shane staring off behind us, and I seized the opportunity to get a good look at him.

He was tall; no surprises there. His hair was probably the most natural compared to his brothers, and yet it was so surreal. It was jet black and shiny, with ribbons of crimson red in the strands and mixed in his bangs. Longer hairs closer to his ears came down to his shoulders while shorter ones in the back stuck upwards in all directions.

He had darker skin than his brothers; almost like tanned apricot. Of course, I could only see his neck and cheek. Over his arms and chest he word a long-sleeved jacket, black with a white faux fur collar and red striped down the middles and sleeves.

Black seemed to be his favorite color. Beneath the jacket were black pants with an interesting red pattern down the sides and−

My eyes widened.

I was looking at the most epic shoes ever in creation! I could only see the toes thanks to the pant cuffs, but that was enough. Pure white with a red sole wrapped around the shoe, clunky like a robot. It even _looked _like metal…

It moved, reminding me that there was a person attached to it.

I glanced up and nearly jumped out of my skin to see him staring at me.

But he wasn't staring at me. He was _glaring_ at me with eyes…terrifying blood-red eyes!

(Much, Much later, I would think to myself that maybe consulting _Twilight_ would be a very good idea.)

In that moment, I was even more scared standing here than I'd ever been in my entire life. I'd take seniors any day compared to Shane. They were human, and by now I was practically convinced that the 'Hedgies' weren't…

Towering over me, Shane's eyes, those awful eyes, narrowed slightly, and with a fresh surge of panic, I knew that without a doubt that he was dangerous. If he wanted to kill someone, he would do it. Easily.

This was gut instinct. I could feel my stomach twist up and my heart was pounding in my head. My fingers tightened on my book.

"Be more careful next time. We can't cover you every second in this school. Understood?"

By his tone, he was in a really bad mood. It made me want to cower and—_we?_

"Yes! Right! I got it!" My voice was pitifully high.

Still glowering, Shane looked down at me with a superior eye, which I was more than happy to let him be, and glanced over my head.

"Sam. I'll leave this with you."

…And I nearly had a heart attack when someone threw an arm around my shoulders. '_Where the heck did he come from? And what did Shane mean, this?_'

"Sure."

Sam's voice wasn't filled with that usual cocky cheeriness. It was serious, almost…warning?

I was still watching Shane. He looked over his shoulder and I saw his hand clench and unclench. And then…a short burst of yellow sparks danced between his fingers.

"Shane! Calm down." Now Sam was definitely serious.

"It wouldn't be worth it." He added as his brother looked at him balefully. "They're just kids. Let me handle them."

Shane's hand closed once more into a fist. Black hair swinging, he turned on his heel and left without another word.

"…_eh?_" Was all I could say.

Sam heaved and huge sigh and ruffled the top of my head. I leaned a bit to one side.

"I knew it was too much to ask for, but I had hoped he would've toned down the angst just a bit."

It took me a minute to turn my head to look at him.

"Huh?" Still squeaky.

Sam gave me a sad smile and leaned back, locking his hands behind his head.

"Shane's early life was…rough, extremely rough. He's still dealing with the scars. But he's not a bad guy really, even if he does get right and wrong mixed up sometimes."

He grinned. "Usually he wouldn't step in like that. I saw what was going on, but he beat me to the punch. But I guess it's only because it's you."

"What do you mean?"

Sam suddenly looked sheepish. He rubbed the back of his head and looked around. "Uh, let's just say he has a soft spot for blue eyes and leave it at that. See ya later!"

He was gone with a smatter of footsteps before I could say another word.

I blinked.

'_Ok, so we just met Shane, who was totally scary, Sam has the weirdest way of talking about him like they're NOT related, I've just received the vaguest answer ever. I am SO confused! Soft spot? Blue? WHAT. THE. FLIP!_'

So that was when Carissa, my sister from another mother, found me pounding my head against the wall of lockers and screaming in frustration.

* * *

"Oh there you are! I wanted to ask you− Elise, are you alright?"

I hunched my shoulders. Silvester was the last thing I needed right now. School had ended and I was standing with my forehead up against the cinderblock wall and fanatically muttering to myself. The few stragglers left in the school passed by without comment. A lot of them knew how I could get.

Silvester walked up beside me, but I didn't look at him. I might explode.

"Fine! Fine! Wonderfully fine! I couldn't be MORE fine!" I said through clenched teeth, turning and stomping away. I needed to escape to my truck. I almost made it to the doors when Silvester got ahead and blocked me.

"What's going on Elise?"

Ooh. Wrong thing to say Silvester.

"THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO KNOW!"I screamed, pinning Silvester against the wall. Finally! I could _finally_ say it!

"What's going on Silvester? _Just who are you_?"

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. This little puppy took a while to write.**

**Will Elise's questions ever be answered? Will Sam quit being so vague? Will the author ever keep to a normal schedule? Find out next time!**

**R&R please!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_Just who are you?_

There was a slight echo in the hallways and a _very_ long silence.

I was breathing hard. It was a wonderful sense of release now that I'd finally got that question out and the pressure was gone. The looming cloud of really heavy stress just slid away. But I felt a little bad that I'd slammed Silvester against the wall, but in my defense, I was desperate. A girl-slash-cat can only take so much before she spontaneously combusts!

Silvester stared at me in blank shock. He didn't say anything about being pushed, nor did he try to push me away. He just looked at me for a long while until he said, "…what are you talking about?"

…aaaaand just when I was starting to calm down, he got me flipping out again. Geez!

"_Oh you know exactly what I'm talking about!_" I hissed. My hands tightened on his shoulders in anger. I could feel my temper rising to the boiling point.

"Something's up with you! With you and your brothers; if they are your brothers, which I seriously doubt. There's nothing brotherly about you guys! You're not alike at all! None of you look the same! In fact, you don't look normal at all! No brotherly love there! Not like brothers! Not LIKE BROTHERS!"

I was ratting out words like a machine gun, but I steamrollered on, venting my spleen on him. "But that's not the point IS IT? No, it isn't! I want to know just what for Pete's sake is going on because all I know is that you're _not human_!"

Silvester had been trying to interject all throughout my ranting, but at that last sentence, he went very still. His skin looked paler than normal and he was as stiff as a board underneath my hands. His sudden stillness transferred to me, and I leaned away. All my anger was gone, replaced by a more somber, serious feeling. I didn't have a lot of trust in Silvester anymore, or the other two for that matter. Silvester's reaction was enough proof that he was hiding something major.

But as the silence stretched painfully longer, I started feeling nervous, even a little bit guilty for attacking him. Verbally and physically. Ugh.

"Look," I said softly. "You don't…have to tell me everything. I just want to know who you _really_ are, and that's it. I won't say anything about it, and I won't ask for anything else, I swear."

He didn't answer, but abruptly sighed and bowed his head.

"I guess there's no point if you've figured this out so quickly." He said, his voice quieted and defeated. He held his forehead with one hand.

This left me feeling even _more_ guilty. The horrible gut twisting kind.

"Like I said, I don't need to know everythi−"

"How long have you lived here?"

I blinked. "Uh, seventeen years; my whole life."

He looked back up at me, his gold eyes worried and piercing.

"So you know the area?"

Confused.

"Well, yes, kinda. Pretty much."

Silvester took a deep, steadying breath, his face very serious. He pushed away from the wall and laid a hand on my shoulder.

"They're going to kill me for this, but we have no choice now at this point. Don't worry; you'll get your answers. Here's what you have to do."

* * *

I have an awesome truck.

Like seriously high class. Four wheel drive, amazing seating space, incredible durability, fuzzy dice, the works!

There are multiple dents everywhere on the body, the bumper is slightly tilted, the paint is flaking off the side, rust is creeping up on the roof, glass is missing from one of the mirrors, and the radio doesn't work.

His name is Maurice and he is awesome.

…what? He is!

So, I was sitting in Maurice in my driveway, and staring at the crumpled piece of paper in my hand. Scribbled in pen was an address and a very urgent warning.

_BE THERE BEFORE 5PM!_

My smart-aleck side was saying that the two extra '!'s were unnecessary. The rest of me told that side to shut up.

Silvester had quickly written the address down and had made sure that I knew where to go. He was so serious; you'd think we were planning to break into Fort Knox. I couldn't help but wonder if I'd gotten myself in _way_ over my head. I checked the time.

_3:43_

I rocketed out of the truck so fast; Scooter barely had time to wag his tail before I'd patted his head and was in the house. _Why, cruel fate? Why, flighty rejection?_

I needed to hurry. Practicing the piano took an hour! Gah!

Sixty minutes of fast-paced-finger-flying later, I gabbled where I was going to a surprised Mom, flew out the door, and was back with Maurice. Thanks to where I lived, town was about ten minutes away if you kept to the speed limit.

If.

The clock on my MP3 player was speeding up, I was sure of it, but I managed to get to town by _4:49_. Mercifully, Silvester's house was close. Only it wasn't a house; it was an apartment complex. I saw Silvester pacing the sidewalk. He was watching the sunset and looking worried. When I pulled up and parked, Silvester anxiously hovered, frantically glancing at the sinking sun.

"Hurry!" He urged as I stepped onto the sidewalk and locked Maurice.

'_The plot thickens'_ I thought as Silvester practically sprinted away and held open an apartment door. I hurried in and, as the door clicked shut, Silvester heaved a huge sigh of relief. "I was so worried you wouldn't get here on time."

"I did my best." I said in my defense, slipping off my shoes. "What, do you guys sprout fur and fangs at night?"

I was joking, _joking_! Adding humor to ease my own nerves. I was freakin' joking! But Silvester, who was shrugging out of his demi-jacket for some reason, was seriously considering what I had said. My eyes went wide.

"I didn't guess right did I?" My voice went high.

Silvester tossed the jacket on the nearby couch. His black shirt was tight fitting with a low neck. He glanced at my apprehensively. "Hmm, well…how to answer that…"

A door opened close by and we heard Sam talking loudly, walking toward us.

"I mean, really! Why is it that I'm the first one to change back every time? It's weird; even counting how you're in the middle and then last comes Silv-Aaah-Aaah-AAAAUUGGH!"

Sam stopped dead. His chest was bare, his blue t-shirt rolled up on his arms. He had frozen halfway in taking it off when he saw us. His reaction would've been funny, but Sam was staring at us in horror, his mouth hanging open and his large green eyes wide in…_fear_.

"Silv…what have you done?" Sam whispered in choked disbelief.

I looked from Sam to Silvester, then back to Sam. This was big; whatever it was, it was big. What had I gotten myself into?

"I didn't have a choice. We don't have a choice. But Sam," Silvester's voice was pleading with his brother. "We can't do this without knowledge of this place. She can help, I know it. Besides, she's already guessed most of it."

"Guessed most…of what?"

'_Uh-oh.'_

All three of us flinched when a jacket-less Shane walked into the room behind Sam.

…

…You know when you're watching a horror-suspense movie? And how the characters are trying to survive? And how you know what's coming but you're just waiting for it in that horrible second of silence before all heck breaks loose and the people graphically die? And you have to deal with that terrible feeling in your stomach?

Well, we had one of those seconds when Shane walked in. One of those seconds before Mount McHedgeland erupted.

"_WHAT THE_ (heck) _IS THIS_?"

Shane's voice thundered though the room. Silvester shoved me behind his back and then Shane was snarling in his face, teeth bared, blood red eyes _furious_. I could see that some of Shane's teeth were slightly pointy. This only added to the terror. I tried to make myself as small as possible as the explosion broke over us with all the force of a tidal wave!

"_I WOULD'VE EXPECTED THIS FROM _him, _BUT I NEVER IMAGINED YOU COULD BE CAPABLE OF BETRAYAL! DO YOU HAVE __**ANY**__ IDEA HOW MUCH DAMAGE YOU'VE CAUSED? THE CHANGE WILL OCCUR WITHIN MINUTES AND YOU−YOU'VE JUST−!_"

He was spitting by now, shaking and nearly speechless with rage. His hands were curved and taut, and he looked close to ripping Silvester apart. His white gloves had interesting black and red cuffs with golden bracelets. Funny how I could notice the little details while those red eyes were snapping, uncontrollable. The 'him' of who has been spoken of, Sam, was picking himself up off the floor. He was massaging the back of his head looking pained. Apparently, Shane had yanked his hair to make him get out of the way…

…all in the time it took for me to blink. _Aw geez!_

"Wait Shads, hold up for a sec!" Sam jumped forward and pulled Shane away by the shoulders, his t-shirt crumpled and forgotten in a corner. "Just let him expl−"

'_Shads?'_

Shane jerked violently, his elbow snapping up and backward to crack into Sam's cheek. It would have too, if Sam hadn't tilted his head back to avoid it, still keeping a grip on Shane and pulling him away from Silvester and me.

Shane jerked again and pulled free, his entire wrath now directed at Sam.

"_Don't call me that!_ I've told you time and time again you lousy fake! And just what kind of explanation justifies this?"

I peered around Silvester's protecting arm, hardly believing what I was seeing- but feeling a little smug about being right about them not being 'brotherly'. How in the wide world of Hershey's could Sam stand up to this raging, terrifying person looking calm, almost bored! And what did that mean, 'lousy fake'?

Sam's lips twitched. "I'm sure it's a very good one, if you'd give him a minute."

That seemed to make things worse. Silvester heaved a huge sigh and moved away to the right as Shane went rigid and his eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. He raised his arm again, fingers splayed out. The gesture was even more threatening than anything else he'd done.

"That would be a minute we don't have! I should've known a rodent like you would be in on this!"

The half smile on Sam's face vanished in an instant and he slid into a fighting stance straight out of _Street Fighter II_ as a brilliant flare of gold lightning crackled in Shane's hand.

"Oi! Stop that! Who're you calling a rodent, blockhead? That's just wrong! And why do you always blame me? I'm just as freaked out as you are!"

There they were, one ready to fight, the other looking more and more like Zeus. I felt my heart speed up from the open tension and anger. Sam's fists tightened and Shane snarled in response. And then−

"He's right actually."

Silvester's young and calm voice broke through the violent atmosphere like a snow plow. I looked around and jerked as I noticed that Silvester had quietly slipped off his shirt too! His long hair rippled behind his bare back as he walked over to the still pair, staring very hard at Shane but speaking to Sam.

"A minute is something we don't have; only seconds. Get ready, and please…trust me on this."

The last bit was obviously aimed at Shane, but the sparks continued to flicker in his hand.

"Don't Shane." Silvester said quietly. "You know what the cost might be."

They stared at each other, scarlet into gold, a total _Twilight Movie_ moment, until the sparks vanished and Shane slowly lowered his arm, face locked in simmering anger. Silvester nodded, motioned to Sam, and the three of them stood in a line facing me. If you'll permit me to a girl for just a teensy moment, I was glad beyond belief that Shane didn't take his shirt off. That would've made everything so much worse, not to mention distracting. Yes, they are that good looking. Ok? Sam had a six-pack. Right. Yes. Anyway. Uncomfortable. Moving on.

"You asked me who we are." Silvester said to me as the last shreds of sunlight sank into oblivion on the horizon.

"Here's my answer."

Sam suddenly jerked, doubling over and shaking. My already sped up heart nearly stopped beating, but Shane and Silvester didn't look away from me as Sam gasped and fell to his knees, holding his head.

His head! The hair was waving, fusing together and sliding down his forehead and triangle blue ears poked up from his scalp. His face was warping, the skin sliding around as his whole body rippled and started _shrinking_! His pointed nose elongated and started changing color! He shuddered.

Shane abruptly staggered and fell to one knee. His hair started fusing too! He gritted his teeth while his face twisted and a fang sprouted from his teeth. He clutched at his chest, where something white was poking underneath his shirt. His tan arm was thinning out and turning dark, turning black−!

Then Silvester went as well, the five bangs on his forehead quivering and shooting up. He moaned, but remained standing and shaking with tightly closed eyes. His skin rippled and waved like the others, arms and torso shrinking in some horribly cool special effect. Except this wasn't animation; this wasn't sci-fi.

This was real.

A plume of white fur suddenly exploded over Silvester's chest and neck. His arms, head, and body were engulfed in a wave of silver-gray quickly spreading down to a vanishing waist lost in black pants eight sizes too large.

There was a harsh ripping noise and I whirled around just in time to see curved spines erupt from Shane's arched back; long and a deep shiny black. Shane grunted as the tattered shirt fell around him. By now I didn't recognize him! He had turned into some kind of−

Silence. Nothing but heavy breathing. Nothing but…

…nothing but three completely alien creatures standing where three human boys had been.

I stared, gaped, gawked, goggled, ogled; none of those words come close! I couldn't look away from them! Three feet tall. Large hands in pure white gloves. Just as large feet in their respective shoes. Arms and legs thin and lean. Body slightly rounded, but sleek, aerodynamic. Heads dominated with tan/peach/pale muzzles and unbelievably large eyes, pointed upright ears, and long, pointy things curving away from their sculls. Fur; blue and tan, silver gray, black and red.

'_This-was-impossible-What-was-this-What-were-they-WHO-are-they-This-was-so-freaky-Oh-My-Gosh!'_

My mind was gibbering while my voice had run screaming out the door.

The silver…thing in front of me stretched his arms above its head while the black rolled its head, those pointy growths bouncing and waving. The blue was rolling around on the floor, struggling with the blue jeans wadded around it's legs. They were stuck on large red sneakers.

"They…won't…come…OFF! _Dang it! _Not again!"

I twitched. That was Sam's voice coming from that thing.

"_Tuh_." A contemptuous snort came from the black in the corner, quickly followed by the sound of pants being shredded with relish. That had sounded like Shane…

"Elise?"

I twitched again and stared down at the silver looking up at me from close to stomach height. I felt tall, not to mention in shock. My gut did a weird flipping bellyflop.

It was those eyes, those same eyes that belonged to Silvester that were gazing up at me. That same shimmery gold streaked with anxiety. Those eyes were large, subtle ebony flesh at the rims, vivid against silver fur. A black needle nose stuck out from the pale muzzle. Right in the middle of that vast silver forehead were the five sprouts pointing in different directions. Just like Silvester's bangs, but they were larger, thick and solid. Triangular ears were hiding behind them.

When I didn't answer, those golden eyes grew even wider.

"Elise, are−?"

Seeing that mouth move with Silvester's voice painfully jolted me from my shock. I raised my hand and it- he- stopped speaking quickly. Tentatively, my voice came back.

"Don't…say anything…just yet." It was high-pitched and wheezy.

I turned around and lurched toward the wonderfully normal sofa. Weird; it was so hard to walk. My knees gave out and I practically fell into the cushions. It was dark and cool, exactly what my stunned eyes needed.

"Eli−?"

I raised a finger, not quite ready. He…fell silent again and we both listened to the blue's running tirade, Sam's voice still pretty unsettling to hear from...him.

"_Every_−urgh−_time_! How can they−ow−stand these? Pants−_mmph_−are−_Grr_−over−_Ack_−rated! Hey. Shads? What are you−? Whoa, whoa, no! Don't you dare−AAAUGH! _Let go of my quills you maniac!_"

I couldn't help it. I bounced up from the couch pillow, hardly noticing the silver on the floor next to me. The blue was struggling like mad; desperately trying to throw off the black, who had tied the pant cuffs to a doorknob and was viciously yanking on the blue's…quills. It was actually pretty hilarious to watch, but I was still kinda out of it at the moment. I laugh about it nowadays though.

Sam's voice was shrieking.

"_Stopitstopitstopit! That freaking hurts! Don't pull them like_−OWWW!_ What the heck is wrong with y_−GYAAHH! _OH SWEET CHAOS! _AAAAUGHH!"

From the corner of my incredulous eyes, the silver facepalmed. I gazed at this loud living tug of war trying to; A, not laugh, and B, figure out what these…guys were. What could possibly have quills other than porcupines and hedg−

"_Oh my gosh!_"

The tugging and screaming stopped very abruptly. Three pairs of large alien eyes focused on me. It took me a second to realized that I'd shouted.

Hedgeland. _Hedge_.

My mouth fell open.

"Hedgehogs?" I gasped.

* * *

**Author's Note:  
The penny drops. Hard. ^^ Sorry about the delay. This took flipping long to type, and that stinking error held me back for a week! Also, the bucketlist and poll have gone through a major overhaul. Will you check it out? There is some fun stuff coming!(or will probably come.) Also, this is late in coming, but the main character isn't Princess Elise. It's a different one. ^^;**

**Coming up next- Will Elise overcome her shock? Will the next chapter seriously be filled with long stretches of dialouge? And is the Author really serious about posting up fanart? **

**Find out next time!  
R&R please! ^^**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Now, at this point, most think I've made this whole thing up either to get attention, or to entertain. Not so my friends, not so! As if I could have that much imagination! (Well, okay maybe I do, not for things like this.)

These guys totally didn't look like cute, tiny little four-legged hedgehog; but you didn't have to be a rocket scientists to work out the connection. Hedgeland. Hedgehog. Two plus two equals four class.

The blue blinked and then grinned. It was a smile I'd seen on Sam's face so many times before. I could see perfect, pearly white teeth.

"Wow! You weren't kidding Silv! She _is_ quick on the uptake."

The black holding the blue's head looked down at him in disgust and savagely slammed his head into the ground.

The shouting began anew.

"OWWWW! Dude, what is your problem?"

"_YOU! Everything about you is my problem!_ You're more than capable of freeing yourself. Curl up why don't you?"

"Why? Well, I've got news for you, you Ultimate Jerk!" The blue snapped, sitting up and glaring up at the black. A large lump was growing in between the quills. "_I _don't have a destructive streak. Unlike someone I could mention."

Destructive streak? I winced. Confusingly enough, I was not at all surprised by that one.

The black's lip curled. "You do realize I can kick your overlarge basketball head thought the wall?"

"Over–hey now, that one's gonna backfire on you buddy. Your head is just as big as mine is. Physically."

"What?" Shane's voice was arrogantly amused as the black leaned against the wall and folded his arms. The golden bracelets winked at me from across the room, and I could see red streaks on the ebony of his arms.

"My head couldn't possibly be that bloated."

"You–!"

"Shouldn't you…stop…them?" I nervously asked as the squabble went on and on, getting louder and more hectic.

"Are you kidding me?"

I glanced over into those gold eyes. The hedgehog…eh, yeah, the hedgehog stared at me like I was crazy.

"Get in the middle of that? I'm too young to die."

"Besides," he continued, turning his head towards the yelling pair. "I usually just let them go at it before it gets physical. They really do respect each other."

The two were shouting something about mothers and, quote, 'Alien-Blackarms-Daycare', unquote. I raised my eyebrows in heavy skepticism, the comic situation helping to ease my tortured psyche. I just wished I could raise only one eyebrow. It makes the expression a lot better. Oh well, I blame genetics.

"No, they really do! They just get each other's back up that's all…really."

He could tell I wasn't convinced, but decided to let it drop. He stood up, and I noticed that he had a short pointy tail. There was so much to look at, but what fascinated me the most were still those amazing quills. Unlike the other's, these were separated into two long segments that curved away from the back of his head. They were silver-gray, just like Silvester's, but with a shine to them, again just like Silvester's. The quills were solid, but if you looked closely, you could see individual strands. They were flexible, but stiff. I really wanted to touch them, but that wasn't the best idea. I might end up stroking him like a dog, which wouldn't go over very well. OOH! But I really, _really_ wanted to!

(It was probably just as well I didn't. A little later I remembered what Silvester's hair had done to me. In this form, the results wouldn't have been pretty.)

"IF YOU TWO WOULD REMEMBER THAT WE AREN'T ALONE!" He unexpectedly bellowed, and I jumped.

The two duelers stopped and looked around. The black had one large white fist around the other's nose. The Blue had the other by a tuft of white hair on his chest. They let go of each other immediately.

"Oh. Yeah. Heh, sorry about that."

The blue walked over to us, or shuffled, seeing as the now very sorry-looking jeans were still tightly wrapped around his feet. He was smiling that Dentist-Perfect-Smile, those enormous green eyes completely carefree like nothing had happened, but I was focusing on the hedgehog behind him.

His face had darkened as he looked back at me. Although his fur was black, since I guessed they were fuzzy, his face had a lot of lighter colors. The apricot muzzle and skin inside his ears stood out, but not as vividly as the scarlet streaks that ran down his forehead and along the quills on his head. That red was also lining the upper corner of his eyes. But all these bright colors had absolutely no effect whatsoever on his face.

He still felt mad, I could see that much. He still felt betrayed. But if I didn't know any better, I'd say he looked…scared? Desperate? I put my finger on it just a second before it vanished, just a second before he looked dangerous again.

Pain. I saw faded pain in his eyes, horribly mixed in with the anger. Did this have anything to do with the rough past Sam had mentioned? What had happened to him?

By now, those red eyes were sparking like nuclear glow sticks of death, so I quickly looked away just as the blue managed to reach the sofa.

"Phew! Okay. Like I was saying, really sorry about all of tha–WHAA!"

He was still shuffling as he spoke, and one large foot stepped in the wrong place.

The hedgehog pitched forward, dinner-plate-sized eyes wide with comical shock, this peach arms thrown out like the wings of an airplane. A second before he fell into the carpet, I caught him. I hadn't hesitated, or even thought about it, I just lunged forward, running not that crazy instinct that always seemed to take over whenever I was with the 'Hedgies'. And now that they were like this, that feeling was a heck of a lot stronger.

(Was it because they were shorter than me, and so darn adorable that my mothering instinct was activated _years_ in advance of ever actually becoming one?)

I caught him by the chest, my arm halfway wrapped around him. I could feel the sharp edges of those spines against my hand. Any higher and I would've sliced my drawing hand wide open. One of those triangle ears was tickling my cheek. I could also feel his fur against my bare arm; it was short fur, but incredibly soft and warm. I even felt a surprised heartbeat throbbing against my elbow.

And in that moment, that pulse convinced me more than words ever could, that what was happening was right now was real. Just holding this living being in this small second filled me with calm and contented acceptance that chased away all of my shock and general freakage. It was weird, but nice and I didn't fight it. I started to smile as I realized that now that I was used to them, I was getting quickly attached to them in the revealing fifteen minutes I'd been here.

"Whoa, thanks!" The blue placed a hand on my shoulder and pushed himself up. Those hands were so large! Both of mine could've fit in his palm. I looked back into those eyes and smiled wider at the hedgehog's expression; still smiling, but staring at me like I was a bomb about to go off. He was so short, it was so cute!

"Sure thing." I said with a happy smile that only seemed to scare him. "Here, let me help you with that." I added, pointing to the wadded up jeans.

There was an awkward silence I was completely oblivious to as the blue sat on the floor. The silver one was still standing by the couch, the black by the wall, and the blue in front of me. They were all watching me.

Filled with some insane desire to laugh, I kept focused on the huge red sneakers stuck in the blue jeans. It was tight, but slowing slipping. After a while, Silvester's voice cleared his throat.

"Ahem…er…you're not…shocked?"

I didn't look up. "Not anymore."

Now Sam's voice jumped in.

"So–wait. No screaming?"

"Nope." My voice trembled due to the building pressure in my throat. The sneakers slipped a few inches. I was still focusing on the shoes when I heard footsteps on the carpet floor.

"Her shoulders are shaking."

The way Shane's voice said that nearly made me lose it! I bit my lip, braced myself, and looked up. All three of them were in front of me, all three pairs of large eyes wide and staring, all three fuzzy, quilled faces looking extremely weirded out.

I completely terrified them by exploding.

"AHAAUUGH–HaHaHaaAAA! AHA! AHA! AHAAHAHAHA!_OH_–HaHaHa–_oh geez–_WuaHAHAHAHAHAA!"

They leapt back, the blue falling backward. They all looked so disturbed; it made me laugh harder. I bent over, holding my stomach and laughing like a maniac.

"What in emerald's name is wrong with her?" The black half-shouted. I managed a shaky glance at him before my eyes filled with tears. He was leaning away from me, his arm raised to his chin in shielding defense, like my dementia was contagious. And then I was struck with another fresh wave of laughter.

"What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything! She just started laughing!"

"Yes, but _why_?"

They were all shouting at each other in confusion. I fell over and rolled onto my side, gasping for air and waving a hand at them.

"*gasp* Stop! STOP–AHAHA! Plea–eeeHeeHeeHEEZ! AHAHAHA*gasp*–I*gasp*HAHAHAHAAA! OWEEE–EEHAAA! _My stomach! _HAHAHAHA!*gasp*"

I tried to say more, but I'd passed into the silent laughter stage by this point, so there was nothing coming. I just slowly rolled onto my back, eyes glazed and streaming, my mouth stretched wide.

"Maybe it was all too much and her mind snapped. Whatever your reasons, you shouldn't have brought her Silver."

There was no reply, but I quickly pulled myself together and quit laughing. This was fun and all that, but there was a concrete reason for why I was here, and that was very serious. Plus, the lure of their mystery returned when Sam's voice said _Silver_.

I sat up and quickly wiped a few stray tears from my eyes. There was silence once again, but a more meaningful one. For a moment, we just looked at each other; human to hedgehog. They didn't look scared anymore, just varying shades of wariness. I dipped my head.

"I'm sorry about losing control like that, but I'm fine now. Really."

I gathered up my courage and looked up, directly into the black's red eyes. It was like staring into a fiery brick wall.

"I'm also sorry for the alarm that I've caused. I'm the one who's responsible here. I forced him," I gestured to the silver one. "…to agree to give me some answers as to who you are."

"I didn't want to know everything," I continued, because I could see all the signs of a very heated interruption coming from those eyes. "All I wanted was confirmation on what I'd already guessed."

"And what did you guess?" The blue blinked his green eyes. His voice was serious, but still light and open. This anthropomorphic hedgehog still had the same affect on me that Sam had had; a sense of encouragement, confidence, warmth.

"That you weren't human." I replied simply, looking over to him. He'd slid his feet out of the jeans and was standing now. My answer staggered him, staggered all of them. Peeking at the black again, I saw complete shock. Whatever he'd been expecting, it certainly wasn't that. I stood up and faced them.

"And now I can see that I was obviously right. So, can we start again?" I tucked some hair behind my ear and smiled.

"Hi, my name's Elise. Who're you?"

Their answer was the true beginning, the beginning of the adventure that changed my life forever.

"My name is Silver the Hedgehog."

"…Shadow the Hedgehog."

"And I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog!"

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry this took a while. I know for some that the wait was painful. :D  
This was more of a filler chapter, but I'm building up to the honking wad of dialogue coming up. Consider yourself warned.  
YAY! I don't have to refer to them as 'the blue', the 'black', and the 'silver', anymore! **

**Coming up Next- What will happen now that Elise knows the truth? And does she know all the truth? What would Sonic, Silver, and Shadow have to say now? Find out next time!**

**R&R please!**

**Also, a major project is coming in May that isn't listed on the bucketlist/poll. Just so you all know.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

So there we were. I, Elise the human-who-claims-to-be-a-cat, was sitting on a couch cushion on the floor. Sonic, Silver, and Shadow the Hedgehogs were on the couch facing me. Actually, Silver had to sit in between Sonic and Shadow, seeing as the two was still giving off, 'I Hate You' vibes. I did my best not to laugh. All of them, Shadow included, were just so dang _cute_!

But truth be told, I wasn't really supposed to be here anymore.

When the hedgehogs had introduced themselves, I'd grinned at their names. For one they totally fit; Sonic for a speedster, Shadow for somebody pretty dark, and Silver for being…well, silver. I liked how they'd converted their names to something somewhat familiar as well. Calling your supposed 'brother' Shadow would've drawn attention to themselves. They obviously didn't want that.

Holding true to my word, I stood up with every intention of leaving. I was _writhing_ with curiosity, but I'd gotten what I'd wanted and it would've been just downright selfish to ask for anything more right?

My leaving didn't go over very well.

"Well gentleman," I said, adding a slight formal note to my voice as I grabbed my jacket. "I thank you and I'll see you tomorrow!" I turned for the door and−

"That's it?"

Shane's-no-_Shadow's_ voice cracked like a whip and I jerked to a halt. Peeking over my shoulder, I saw him shrug away from the wall. Yes he was short. Yes he was adorable. And yes, I was terrified of him.

He was glaring at me, anger very much in evidence in his eyes, but there was power. There was a power there in his strong legs, straight back, and proud face. I'd seen flashes of his abilities, but seeing him here in his true form…who knew what he could do? I could feel fear bubbling in my stomach. I was positive he could tell what I was feeling. Shadow's lip curled in angry contempt. "Now that you know such a secret as this, you expect that you can just go home? You think that you can just simply leave without any repercussions?"

He still scared me, but I could sense my personal integrity coming under fire, and I went on the defensive.

"Oh please, I'm not stupid." I shot back, carefully looking him in the eye. Difficult. "I realize that things have completely changed, no pun intended. I also realize that your secret, and whatever it is you guys are doing, is something big and that I should interfere."

"But you already have." Ooh. Menace. From behind Shadow, I saw Sonic stand up, Silver following suit. Silver was watching Shadow like a hawk, his hands open but not loose. He looked ready to react if Shadow so much as twitched; seeing that made me feel a little bit more nervous. Then I noticed that Sonic was staring just as intensely at me. His normally smiling face was neutral, but his eyes were flashing a warning I could easily read.

_Careful, you're on thin ice._

I remembered him saying something about 'destructive streaks', and now the full implications came down on me. I backed off and lowered my voice.

"When I figured out that there was something not right about you, I was determined to know the truth. But when it was given to me, and I saw how much it affected all of you, I knew then that I was being selfish. And so, I am not going to act, and I'm not going to ask anything more from you!"

The honesty in my little speech seemed to drop the tension levels in the room. Silver continued to eye Shadow, but not as rigidly as before. His hands closed and the muscles beneath the metallic fur relaxed.

Sonic folded his arms, but he didn't look skeptical. He looked…satisfied. The corner of his mouth lifted in a small half-smile. "Well," he said, raising an eyebrow, "It's nice to know she's considerate."

Shadow peered beadily at him through the corner of his eye.

"Being considerate does not remove the fact that se is a liability. She is still a danger to our purpose here−"

"She doesn't have to be."

Shadow stopped short. Sonic's eyes widened. As one, both hedgehogs turned to stare at Silver. I was staring at him too. Echoes of our talk suddenly came back to me.

_"How long have you lived here?"_

_I blinked. "Uh, seventeen years; my whole life."_

_He looked back up at me, his gold eyes worried and piercing._

_"So you know the area?"_

_Confused._

_"Well, yes, kinda. Pretty much."_

_Silvester took a deep, steadying breath, his face very serious. He pushed away from the wall and laid a hand on my shoulder._

_"They're going to kill me for this, but we have no choice now at this point. Don't worry; you'll get your answers. Here's what you have to do."_

Wait a minute…

Silver raised his head, and I was surprised by the amount of steely seriousness and determination in his eyes. Although they squabbled like kids, I'd seen either Sonic or Shadow as the leader, the other as the reluctant second, and Silver as kind of the kid of the group. I could see now that I was wrong to put them into categories. All three of them were more or less equal.

Sonic's smile vanished. "What are you talking about Silver?"

He was done playing around. I think all of us were; but I felt a little awkward just standing there like an idiot. I sat on the floor, crossing my legs. I loved to sit like that. It felt safe.

At Sonic's question, Silver turned his head, his long quills swaying. He took a deep breath.

"I brought her here fully intending to tell her everything."

That was a shock. Shadow jerked his eyes firing up again. "What?"

Sonic didn't say a word.

Silver locked eyes with me; I'd never been looked at like that. His golden eyes were staring at me like I was his very last hope. He was depending on me for something, and I had no idea what he wanted from me. He didn't turn away from me as all things black and red began to burn in that kind of anger that simmer just beneath the surface.

"Absolutely not!" Shadow's voice snapped, his handed curling into fists again. "There's no reason for her, for a _human_ to be involved with us."

Silver didn't move. "We no longer have a choice." His voice was quietly firm. Either Shadow didn't hear the subtle message to shut up, or he just ignored it.

He folded his arms, failing to notice Silver's hands clench. "We're perfectly capable of−"

"Of what?" Silver exploded, whirling around to face Shadow, anger and frustration written all over his pale face. "For all the time we've been here, we've accomplished one thing: NOTHING!"

His ears were pressed flat against his head like a cat. His quills quivered as he glared into Shadow's stony face.

"Get off your high horse and admit it Shadow. We have no idea what we're doing!" Silver hissed through clenched teeth. "We're about as close to succeeding as you are to marrying Sonic!"

"Hey!" Sonic interjected, but Silver seemed to have touched a nerve. Shadow bared his slightly pointier teeth, rapidly switching from angry to furious.

"Don't you dare forget that _I can sense them_!" He snarled. His hands were shaking.

"Ha!" Silver threw back his head with a mirthless laugh. "You _used_ to. Let's face it, our abilities have been cut down to a tenth of what they used to be now that we switch forms and Ultimate Lifeform or not, that included you!"

"And you said it yourself." Silver continued, steaming off on the 'I've-Had-It-Express', and ignoring Shadow's temper, which I knew must've been near breaking point. "All you've been picking up is interference, so that's basically useless, isn't it?"

That did it.

Shadow sprang forward with a roar, his fist pulled back to smash into Silver's face. Sonic started as Shadow flew straight for Silver. I gasped.

In one swift movement, Silver whipped up his hand and Shadow froze in midair.

…really, in midair. Four feet and floating above the floor. Shadow's body was shining in a turquoise haze that matched the circle glowing in Silver's palm.

I didn't notice that my mouth was open until Sonic slid up next to me and pushed it closed with a finger.

"This has been a pretty exciting day for you huh?" He asked with a tired sigh.

I didn't answer. I just nodded. I knew Silver could do something, but I'd only seen hints of what it could be, and had guessed the rest. But it was nice to have his ability brought into the light. Literally.

"So," I began, "So what is he…doing?"

"Telekinesis." Sonic said simply.

"Oh."

I could see Shadow straining to move without success, red eyes incensed. I switched to look at Silver. His face was set in heavy concentration as he locked himself in a glare match against Shadow. At first I though his fur looked glossier because of what he was doing, but then I realized that it was gleaming with sweat. And then I saw his upraised hand…_tremble._

Sonic saw it too.

"Silver!" He said sharply, taking a step forward away from my side. "That's enough. Stop."

"_NO!_" Silver ground out between clenched teeth.

I peered sideways at Sonic's face. I'd seen Sonic, masquerading as 'Sam', as the carefree-cocky-go-lucky type; occasionally serious, but still finding something positive and funny in any situation. Now there was another side to him that I could see. Concerned. Caring. Protective. He protected others from danger, how I knew, I didn't know. But….Sonic was staring at Silver like a parent that's watching their child climb a tree with rocks at the bottom.

"Silver, you said it yourself, we've been seriously cut down. If you keep going like this−"

"He. Needs. To. Accept. It!" Silver's entire arm was shaking now as he spat out the words. "He needs. To. Accept that. We can't. On. Our. Own!"

Now I was starting to get worried. I didn't know what was this was costing him, but I couldn't stand to see him suffering like this anymore!

"Guys please!" I saw his ears twitch at my voice. "Please stop!"

Silver didn't budge or move in any new way that I could see, but I thought I saw Shadow's eyes flicker towards me. Then all of a sudden, his face went blank, his eyes unreadable. The force around him disappeared and he landed with cat-like grace, kneeling on the floor. He stood up and walked past a shaking Silver without a word. He didn't look at me as he passed, his shoulder brushing against my arm. He strode across the room and stopped to look out the window on the far side of the couch.

I gazed at his spined back, my forehead still wrinkled with worry. I wasn't sure if he was sorry or embarrassed that he'd lost his temper, was conceding that they needed my help for elusive reasons, OR if he was just so hacked off that he contained it deep inside of himself and didn't want to look at any of us. Either way, his silence and stillness was unnerving.

I jumped a titch when Sonic cleared his throat, breaking the tense atmosphere.

"So…you were 'fully intending to tell her everything'?" he asked Silver's back in a calm 'Moving On' voice.

"Right. Yes…yeah." He sounded like he'd run a marathon. Silver turned around and gave me a tired, apologetic smile. I saw a drop of sweat slide down his temple.

"I'm…I'm sorry about that Elise. Would you…" he swallowed, and then took a deep breath. "Would you please sit down? Then we can…tell you every…everything."

I'd never seen anyone faint in real life before, but I knew that Silver was about two seconds away from passing out.

"I will if you will." I replied, marching over to the couch, grabbing a pillow with a wary glance at the black statue in front of the window, and plopping myself on the floor. I gave a bemused Silver my most stubborn look and pointed at the couch.

"Sitt-ith."

And that was how I ended up here; balancing between nervousness and excitement. It was a weird feeling, eager to know the truth, and terrified to find out.

Silver, still breathing a bit heavily, leaned forward and began.

"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…"

…PSYCH! Just making sure you were paying attention. Here's what he really said.

"We're from a different world." He said it bluntly, skipping over a traditional dramatic entrance like, _'I know this may be hard to understand'_.

I nodded, swallowing down the "Which Planet is Yours?" question.

"Well actually, more like a different dimension." Sonic put in with a shrug. "We're from Earth, just not this one."

"Our kind calls it Mobius," Silver continued. "But both humans and mobians share the planet in…well I guess you could call it harmony. There hasn't been a war yet."

Sonic snorted and Silver smiled. Shadow blinked, still staring off somewhere. Shadow had needed some convincing to join our little discussion group, but finally he settled down on the couch doing his best to pretend we weren't there.

"Well alright, not exactly a war, but still a battle." He amended, before turning to Sonic with a small frown. "Why don't you start? You know the story better than I do."

Sonic shrugged.

"To start from the beginning, everything was pretty fine until a man named Dr. Ivo Robotnik showed up. The guy was literally a genius in robotics, and crazy for power. He started building armies and weapons, and started going by the nickname Dr. Eggman.

Sonic's story was cut short by my snort of laughter. I'd tried to stop it, but…_Eggman_? Really? I couldn't take that name seriously!

"Sorry." I choked out between suppressed giggles. Shadow was giving me a destructive stink-eye, and Silver's eyes were closed; but I figured that he was just dozing.

Sonic on the other hand gave me a quick grin. "I know, pretty ridiculous huh? But that didn't stop him from trying to take over the world for his," he held up to large hand and made quotation marks in the air, "Eggman Empire.

"Like Silver said, the world is kinda divided between us and humans, so rather than deal with human resistance he started conquering the mobians half."

Sonic's bright green eyes darkened for a moment, filled with haunting memories only he could see. "They fought back, but there was no contest; he had better weapons and firepower. Entire cities were taken out, hundreds captured to never see their families again."

Suddenly he brightened up with a mischievous smirk. "But there was one thing he didn't count on!"

"Lemme guess…you?" I asked wryly.

He winked, his blue ear twitching. "Yep, We-my friends and I-kept him at bay until the humans came in. Eggman hates me with a passion, so after constantly trying to find something to beat me he dug around until he found Shadow."

Sonic jerked a thumb at the black hedgehog who, I saw with a lurch in the stomach, had been watching me with a blank face.

"He was obviously hoping Shadow would finish me off so he'd have a clear shot at the ruling the Earth thing." Sonic continued. "He didn't plan on him defecting though!"

Shadow gave him a deadpan stare. "Who said I ever joined you?

Sonic wasn't phased in the slightest. "We teamed up and you know it. The rest of the time you were just…sidetracked."

"So..." I said, trying to catch up. "Eggman found you?"

Red eyes flicked back to me. "I was in stasis for fifty years." Shadow said shortly.

"Oh…right."

There was a very…awkward pause until Sonic picked up the thread again.

"So, Eggman failed again, but even with the two of us, Eggman has always been a huge threat because of one thing."

"What's that?" I asked in a small voice. The subject had now turned very serious, as opposed to the just serious. Sonic closed his mouth and he, and a now open-eyed Silver, looked at Shadow. Shadow folded his striped arms and closed his eyes pensively.

"Throughout the universe, there is a force that flows through all forms of life. This energy is called Chaos which, through sentient life, is the driving force behind reason and madness, thoughts and actions, creation and destruction. In our world, there are seven points where huge amounts of chaos energy are gathered into the forms of seven gemstones. These gems are known as the Chaos Emeralds."

There was a small silence at the end of Shadow's monologue, which perfectly added a sense of awe. Silver gave a small little nod, confirming what the other had said.

"Seven gems of power; Eggman's always trying to get his hands on them." Sonic grumbled. "Chaos Emeralds can power machines to above and beyond the norm, so that ups mass production and can make dangerous robots positively lethal to those who can't fight."

"However, Dr. Eggman isn't the only one who can tap into their power." Back to Shadow again.

…interesting. Now that everybody had agreed to tell me the truth, facts were flying thick and fast at my brain and it was thanks to all the TV, comics, and fantasy books in my life that I was able to keep up. Even Shadow, who was president of the I-Hate-You-and-Humans-so-Butt-Out-if-You-Still-Want-Your-Head-Attached-to-Your-Body Club, was laying out the goods. He and Sonic were taking it in turns, but Silver was oddly quiet…

"There are a range of abilities that are granted to those who can use Chaos." Shadow was oblivious to my small zoning-out session. "Chaos energy can be condensed into attacks such as Chaos Spear and Chaos Blast. Healings and transformations also emphasize the line between creation and destruction. But the most powerful of all is Chaos Control."

I was all ears at this point, and Shadow even stopped for a second when he noticed how avidly I was staring at him. I love that word. Avidly. Avid. It's a cool word.

"A properly initiated Chaos Control can manipulate time and space."

…coolness to the fifth degree! Anybody would've wanted a Chaos Emerald if you could do all that!

"Ok," I said, running the facts through my head. "Chaos comes in many forms, Emeralds are large amounts of Chaos, and Eggman hunts Emeralds for global domination. You two," I pointed and Sonic and Shadow, "fight Eggman to stop that from happening. Right?"

"Pretty much, yeah!" Sonic was obviously pleased that I'd understood everything.

I looked over at Silver. "So where do you come in?"

"While Sonic and Shadow are together, I live in a completely different timeline. About two-hundred years in their future." Silver said it simply, but it was something I totally didn't expect. And it…didn't…make…sense!

"What? But-but−" I flapped my hands in confusion. "How is that possible? How did you three even meet?"

"Eggman." They all said together.

…How about this? I'm just not going to think about anything really hard. How about that HUH?

"O…kay. Continue."

"Things during my time were fairly peaceful." Silver began, looking much more alive that he did ten minutes ago. "Everything was fine until this interplanetary demon showed looking of r power and a planet to eat. I used the Emeralds to go super−"

"To go what?"

"Oh, we didn't mention that. We can use all seven of the Chaos Emeralds to turn into a Super version of ourselves."

Capes. Ha, ha.

"Mmm-hm, go on."

"…so, I went Super and quickly got rid of the thing, but when I returned, things had drastically changed."

"How drastically?" I asked, for Silver's voice had lowered into gloom and depression.

"Everything was covered in metal, robots were marching everywhere, and banners and statues were up declaring loyalty to the Eggman Empire; not to mention a hefty price on my head for bounty hunters." Silver answered, nearly a monotone.

"Oh." Was all I could say. That was drastic.

"Something had happened that wasn't supposed to have happened, and if Eggman was the reason, I knew that Sonic and Shadow needed my help. But getting to them was another problem entirely."

Silver rested his arms on his knees. "You see, when you use all seven Emeralds, they scatter afterward, hence the reason why we keep searching for them. But when I returned home, they vanished completely, which wasn't normally what was supposed to happen. It wasn't normal."

"Meanwhile things at our end were a disaster." Sonic easily slid back into the story. "Somehow Eggman managed to collect six Emeralds and was gaining ground like a bulldozer falling off a cliff. Even with Shadow, we were losing big time. We couldn't find the last Emerald anywhere, and believe me we were looking desperately."

But Sonic didn't look desperate. He threw a peach arm around Silver's shoulders and gave him a side-hug. "And then, guess who showed up holding a Chaos Emerald and a mound of questions? And that reminds me," He looked at Silver. "Where was that thing anyway?"

"Buried in the foundations of an old fortress in a place once called Robotron."

Shadow shook his head in disgust as Sonic clapped a hand to his forehead. "No wonder we couldn't find it! That was Eggman's main base! The idiot was sitting on top of an Emerald the entire time and didn't even notice!"

"Uh…"

"Sorry; so Silver appears and finally, we had a chance. Now, Shadow is pretty handy with Chaos Energy, so he used the one Emerald and Chaos Controlled the three of us straight into Robotron; right where the other Emeralds were being kept while everybody else set off a diversion."

All the happiness drained out of Sonic before he continued, his pointy ears lowering.

"That's where it all went wrong. It was a tough battle, the toughest we've ever fought, but we won. Eggman knew that nothing could stop us from taking back the Emeralds. I guess the old coot finally learned from past mistakes, because he'd seemed to have prepared for something like that to happen. Before we knew what had happened, Eggman had stolen our Chaos Emerald and dropped into this capsule of some kind with the Emeralds. There was this bright flash of light and…he and the Emeralds were gone."

I dimly noticed that I was leaning forward. "What happened?"

"The light was unmistakably Chaos Control." Shadow growled, glaring into the distance again. "And it was the complete lack of the Emeralds' presence that we knew he had traveled to a different world. It was only later that we determined where exactly the Doctor was."

My stomach dropped and suddenly, I was filled with dread. I thought I already knew the answer, but I asked anyway.

"And where is he?"

Sonic looked at me sadly.

"Here."

* * *

**Author's Note: THERE! I am so sorry for not working on this sooner, I really am guys! So here is a nice long chapter for you all. I told you that there would be a honking wad of dialogue didn't I? Also, I would like to apologize to those who left me messages that I can't reply to anymore. I promise I'll answer! (This is officially the longest Chapter I've ever done.)**

**Coming up Next: The truth is out! How can Elise help her hedgies? How will she cope knowing an evil doctor is on her planet? And when will Shadow just take a chill pill? Find out Next time!**

**R&R please?**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"_Hmm…she handled that well!"_

"_I knew she would. She has an open mind and an amazing imagination. She'll be just what the doctor ordered."_

"_Ugh, don't say that. You'll jinx her. But that was kinda a risky move don't you think?"_

"_Coming from Sonic, that really is saying something."_

"_Hey!"_

"_You should've consulted us first before acting alone!"_

"_And you would've said no in a heartbeat."_

"_He's got a point."_

"_Hmph!"_

"_I know things could've gone extremely wrong, but it didn't. And you remember what she said. She'd already had a hunch that we weren't completely human."_

"_Is that supposed to reassure me?"_

"…_hmm."_

* * *

It was history, the last class before lunch, and I wasn't taking in a word my teacher was saying. Any voices I heard was a meaningless drone in my ears, like the humming of a car. This only made me sleepier. My mouth was actually half-open as I stared at the wall. Looking at me now, you wouldn't think that three days ago I'd learned the biggest secret in the whole world!

Whoever said ignorance was bliss sure wasn't kidding!

I'd been hoping that once I knew the truth, my life would get easier. Ha-ha! No. The night I left that apartment, and the nights after that, I'd stared at the ceiling, buzzing with some kind of electric energy that made it impossible to sleep! Sure I'd eventually nod off near four-thirty or so, but when you needed to get up at _five-thirty_, that's not enough.

I was only slightly aware of the lights turning off for a power point presentation.

I didn't think it was the Hedgehog-er, Hedgeland transformation that kept me awake, extraordinary though it was. No, it was the knowledge that an evil robot loving scientist from a different dimension was hiding somewhere in the world, waiting for the chance to strike. So, I'd basically think, _Am I going to die tomorrow?_

Blurry pictures flitted across the screen.

And then, I wondered if I hadn't just dreamt the whole thing up, and was just disoriented. It's totally possible with me. Really.

Of course, that theory was blown out of the water went I made it to school. They didn't say anything, but they treated me differently. Silver…eh, _Silvester _gave me a long look before he smiled and waved. I guess he was making sure I wasn't panicking. Sam actually stopped mid-run and asked me how I was holding up. When I told him I was fine, he clapped me on the back and sped away.

And I saw Shane _at least_ five times this morning. We didn't talk, or really communicate in any way, but I had a sneaky suspicion that he was keeping an eye on me.

Something bumped into my shoulder, and I jumped when I noticed that I was the only person left in the classroom.

"Are you alright?" My teacher asked as I flung my things frantically into Duke, muttering under my breath.

"Er–wha?" I needed to blink several times to bring him into focus. "Ye-yeah! Yeah, I've just…gotta lot of fuzz upstairs. You know?"

He looked skeptical, but he waved as I scampered out the door.

I had to really concentrate going through the crowded lunch-goer hallways to my locker. Sleep. I wanna sleep. Just let me doze off–

A hand suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me back around the corner. "Wha–?"

The gloved hand clamped over my mouth.

"Shh! Just keep quiet for a sec!" Sam hissed in my ear.

There was no need to tell me twice. I saw the danger immediately. Tank, Starscream, and Mad Max were walking up the hallway. Mad Max still had the scratches on his face I'd given him. They must've gotten infected or something, because they didn't look like they'd go away. If I'd kept walking, I would've smacked right into him! (Later I'd make a mental note that I'd eventually know their real names.)

The seniors passed by without seeing us, and we both heaved a sigh of relief.

"Man, that was close."

"Yeah, thanks a lot So—Sam."

They'd asked me to call them by their human names while they were human, and it was difficult to remember.

"Sure thing." He looked at me closely, his blue mane rippling like water. I never got tired of watching that hair…

"You look terrible. Have you had any sleep?"

I smiled ruefully. Having Sam around was a real pick me up. "Sleep? What is this sleep you speak of?"

He grinned back, but he kept up the searching look until I sighed in defeat.

"I guess I've just been a little worried." I admitted. Wonderfully, my body chose that moment to heave a huge yawn. Thanks for nothing, you useless body. Grr.

"And that's been keeping you up." Sam said with a knowing smile. He placed a hand on my shoulder, his grip warm. He lowered his voice. "Look, don't worry so much! Eggman hasn't been here much longer than we have. Plus, he needs to get more adjusted to this world and stay low before he becomes a threat. And by the time that happens, we should be ready for him."

He winked. "Don't forget who we are, 'kay?"

I smiled back. Could this guy be part vacuum cleaner? 'Cause he just sucked all the stress out of me!

"I'll see what I can do." I raised my fist for a fist bump, which he did with enthusiasm.

"Oh and will you tell Shane to stop following me? I'm not going to spill the beans, so he can cut the surveillance act."

He frowned and tilted his hand, scratching the top of his head. I'd seen him do that before, and it was so freakin' cute!

"Well, I can tell him, but he'll most likely ignore me. He's pretty stubborn."

"So he's a lot like Vegeta then."

Sam blinked. "Who?"

"Never mind." There was no need to tell him I'd been watching Dragonball Z lately. Vegeta…heh…

My stomach grumbled.

"Hey, I'll let you get some lunch Elise!" He chuckled. Ruffling my hair, he dashed away.

Sam had made me feel better, but I was still tired. So when I finally slouched into the band room, lunch in the friend group was in full swing. Colorado was eyeing me with that anxious puppy-dog look he has, Jessie and Erica were having a poke fest, and Maddie and Carissa were laughing about something.

I stumbled past all of them and collapsed on the community backpack pile behind Maddie. Not as comfortable as my bed, but good enough.

"Is some little kitty tired?" Carissa teasingly cooed.

I grunted.

"Elise. Um, can I…is it alright–well, can I just–"

"JUST OPEN THE BACKPACK!"

Colorado eagerly dug out my two sketch books and various doodle tablets from Duke. I could tell what he'd grabbed, because the weight on my back quickly disappeared. Tiredness made me snap at Rado, but since he got his artistic eye-candy, he should be happy.

"What's with you?" Jessie asked after jabbing Erica in the forehead.

"Meh."

"How can you be tired? Didn't you sleep last night?" That would be Maddie.

"Meh."

"Didn't you draw anything new?" Colorado.

I growled.

But I smiled as I heard the others telling him to shut up, and his defensive splutter in reply. All was as it should be. And then…

"What's Shane Hedgeland doing here?"

Shane Hedgeland do _what now?_

I shot up and there he was in all of is glaring glory, standing in the doorway. He completely ignored the stares and mutterings around him as he pointedly looked–uh, glowered–at me before walking out into the hallway.

"Oh gawl." I grumbled, rolling off the backpack pile and plopping Duke into a surprised Colorado's lap. Did it have to be now? Right now? When I really, _really_, do not feel up for this? Can anyone who's in charge here, actually HEAR ME?

"What's going on?"

"Does he want you for something?"

"Y-eaah-ss." I said, stretching as far as my little body would let me. "He probably has a question for me."

Erica leaned away from Jessie's prodding finger. "Are you guys working on something?"

I'd prepared for theses kind of questions. They were bound to come up sooner or later, especially with my intimate friends.

"I can't tell you that." I said over my shoulder as I began walking away.

"Why not?"

…now, when Maddie asks you something in that firm voice, you'd better give a satisfactory answer. Still walking, I turned to the others and shrugged. "It's not my secret to tell."

Not satisfied, but they'd just have to deal with it.

I opened the door and saw Shane leaning against the wall, his arms folded and his eyes closed. He looked like he belonged in an anime, so I half expected and dozen fangirls to come and swarm him with little hearts in their eyes. Looking at him now as a tall, and pretty powerfully built teenager, it was easy to forget about the change he went through every night. Peering closely through the long black and red bangs, you could see a subtle red tinge on the skin around his eyes. But only if you knew what you're looking for. It would seem that I spent for time checking him out than talking to him! Lame.

…Of course, these complimentary thoughts were coming from the nice side of my brain which was pretty small right now due to grumpiness.

I grimaced, and I actually managed to keep my look in place when he opened his eyes and favored me with that patented glare of his.

"You know, if you _don't_ want people to think we're up to something, you could be a little more discreet." I said, rolling my eyes. "I can already hear the questions brewing!"

He brushed off my comment like the fly I was to him. "We need you tonight. Seven."

That distracted me. I tilted my head. "Why?"

I didn't know what to expect form him, but it certainly wasn't him downright ignoring me and walking away. I stared at his back for a moment, then my jaw clenched. Right. I was SO not in the mood for this!

I marched up behind Shane and grabbed his arm, pulling him around. Judging by the angry surprise on his face, he'd been caught off-guard and I'd congratulate myself on this later. Plus, it gave me the split-second advantage over him that I needed.

"Alright look," I hissed. (People were staring at us.) "If you need my help so badly, then I think I'm entitled to an answer once or twice. Don't just blow me off like that, or I won't help at all!"

He yanked his arm, but I tightened my grip and held on. I could feel hardened muscles beneath my fingers, and I knew that if he'd used is full strength, not only would his arm be free, but I'd lost a few fingers in the process.

"Besides," I continued in a …slightly more negotiable tone. "I have parents to answer to. I need to know so I can come up with a story."

Red eyes sparking with irritation, Shane gritted his teeth and his arm relaxed.

In response, I let go.

"It's simple discussion, nothing more."

"Okay then, thank you. I'll come." Out of sheer tiredness, I went sarcastic on him.

"There. Was that so hard?"

No, but it wasn't necessary either.

Shane gave me an icy glare before turning on his heel and stalking away. I watched him leave with triumph, but started to feel guilty when my conscience caught up with my mouth. I regretted mouthing off; it had only made our relationship worse. Truth be told, I desperately wanted to get to know him, not Shane, but Shadow. I wanted to understand him. But that was a little hard seeing as he was about as approachable as a cactus. Plus, when he was in hedgehog mode, I'd get a wallop of the "I Hate Humans" vibe from him.

My cranky feelings were cooled by remorse, but it was too late. Shane was long gone. I sighed, stretching my arms over my head as I made my way back to the band room. I'd have to apologize to him tonight. With him as Shadow.

…yippee.

* * *

I felt tired again after dinner, but restless; like a tiger pacing in its cage, I couldn't settle. There was so much on my mind.

"I'm going for a walk!" I called, heading for the door. I wasn't sure if my Mom and Dad even heard me, but I was already out the door so it didn't matter.

The stars were shining faintly as I started down our drive way, Scooter running by my side in sheer joy of being together. It was a very clear night, the air a bit nippy. Fall was coming. I threw back my head and just breathed nature in, completely losing myself in the night.

It felt so nice.

So much had happened in these past few months, it was hard to keep up with it all. I guess this was what real life felt like. I'd always lived halfway inside my mental fantasies, treating life like a game that occasionally just plain sucked. I'd dreamed and hoped that something strange or exciting would happen to me, like in the stories and comics I'd read. Of course, I never _really_ expected that to happen to something like me. At least, that was what I thought until recently.

Being the good little girl that I was, I'd shown up at the Hedgehog's apartment right at seven. I'd fed my Mom some story about helping some friends with a super important project. A half-truth, at best. Since it was after sunset, they'd already transformed by the time I arrived.

When I knocked, I heard Sonic call out exasperatedly, "Shadow, will you _please_ get rid of your shirt scraps? She's here!"

Half a second later, the door cracked open and I slid inside.

"Safe trip?" Sonic asked, pushing the door closed with his much larger hand.

I smiled down at him. I'd mentioned it before, but being around Sonic was such a pick-me-up. He always had this twinkle in his eye, both friendly and mischievous. He was so…bright, likeable, confident…there was word to describe it, but I didn't have it yet.

"Yeah, I managed to survive." I grinned, and he smiled back. Hedgehogs. Half of me still couldn't believe it.

Movement caught my eye, and I saw Silver scurrying around, putting things away and generally fidgeting. Shadow was leaning against a wall, staring out the window. I noticed a few scraps of black cloth scattered at his feet, but decided not to mention it.

I was in enough hot water with this guy.

I turned back to Silver and waved before Shadow would realize I was looking at him. Silver, who was apparently levitating a spider up from behind the couch, waved back, and the poor thing zipped from side to side. He made sure everything was spotless before gentlemanly taking my jacket. Sonic sat down on the couch, cleaning his ear with a pinkie. Shadow didn't move.

"Okay!" I announced, clapping my hands together. "What are we discussing? Strategy? Theories? Search plans?"

Silence.

Sonic and Silver looked at each other. They blinked.

Wait a second…

Both hedgehogs turned to the solitary Shadow by the wall.

…What? Shadow called for this?

I looked at him too. Shadow turned his head.

"We need to know all that you know about us and reassess our situation."

He said it so grimly! It was like somebody died! I stared at him for a moment before I spoke. "Huh?"

Shadow shrugged away from the wall and walked over to the rest of us. Those large, clunky shoes of his padded thickly across the carpet. Not for the first time, I wondered why exactly his shoes were metal, and what necessarily called for…something like that. Certainly not style.

Shadow fixed me with that hard stare of his, resting his hand against his hip. "If you found us out so quickly, there is no doubt that others will. We need to rectify this immediately."

"So…you need advice…in blendage."

The look he gave me was more than any answer could be. If I wasn't on the receiving end, I would marvel at the prefect blend of annoyance, contempt, and cynicism that could mix his face. Sigh.

It was a good thing I'd brought Duke with me. My Hedgeland List was carefully hidden inside with my other things. I pulled it out and handed to Shadow. The hedgehog took it without comment.

"Here, these are some personal notes I took. All of this is everything about you guys that tipped me off. This little spot here," I pointed to a hastily scribbled paragraph at the very bottom. "Is an update I stuck in after the library incident. Enjoy."

Almost immediately afterward, I wished I could take back the word I'd just said. I'd backed away, and the three hedgehogs had gathered around my writing. I didn't like their reactions. They'd lived amongst us humans in complete secret.

Or so they thought until they read my notes, a long detailed list of every little tiny detail that had slipped through their careful net. Silver's eyes had widened, his forehead creased. Shadow's face hadn't changed, but his eyes hardened and his hands tightened against the tablet, his fingers digging into the paper. Sonic's face was politely blank, but he was anything but calm. I could see it in the set of his mouth, the way his neck tensed.

I could only imagine how disturbed they must be.

"It's not as bad as it seems." I said quickly, waving my hands. " I let myself go a little crazy over you guys, so I was watching you like a hawk!"

…

Looking back, I had probably said something to make the atmosphere even worse. Sonic had looked at me, and I couldn't for the life of me read the emotions on his face. His green eyes had been piercing, like he'd been staring right through me.

Before I left, they'd thanked me for coming and had asked if they could keep the tablet.

I'd felt like this ever since.

I passed by a fence lined with weeds and cotton ivy. The sky was getting darker. I sighed.

This was actually a lot more stressful than I'd ever imagined, keeping this secret for them, hiding this from my parents and friends...

I didn't like having to lie and hide from them, the people closest to me, but it was for the greater good right?

_Besides_, I grumbled to myself, kicking a stone, _don't they have it worse than me? They're stuck here far away from their own world, family, and friends, having to hide from the freak-out humans. I have NO room to complain!_

More stars began popping out, the Big Dipper twinkling down at me. The wind rustled through the alfalfa growing in the field next to me. Scooter bounded around me, panting and wagging his tail. A mother's distant shout called for her playing kids to come inside.

I stopped short, staring off into the horizon. I glared at the rapidly fleeing sun, clenching my fists. I had to be stronger than this! I had to be strong like them. Keeping their secret and dealing with the consequences was the least I could do!

"I'm going to do whatever it takes!"

I growled out the words, speaking to no one but myself with heaven as my witness.

Scooter bumped against my knees, bringing me out of my grim determination. I laughed, bending down and rubbing his sides. He licked my face eagerly. A little too eagerly.

"Okay, okay! Come on boy-oh!" I chirped, and we started down the road again.

I wouldn't forget what came next.

All of a sudden, I wanted to run. I wanted to _fly_! I wanted to disappear so fast, I'd leave nothing but a sonic boom and a trail of fire behind me! I could feel it, the desire to run building inside me. I didn't understand it, but I couldn't bring myself to care. Give me speed! No, give me lightspeed! I started to walk faster, ready to run. Let me zoom off and chase the sun around the world! Let me race the moon! I broke into a jog, going faster and faster and faster–

The feeling vanished.

No, really! It was just…POOF! Gone!

I gasped. Gravel crunched under my shoes as I jerked to a halt. What just happened? What _was _that? I looked around wildly, my hear pumping…and saw it.

There was a bright green glow, pulsing through the alfalfa leaves no less than six feet away from me.

…no way. No. Flipping. Way. It couldn't be!

I fought back the strange feeling that came over me again as I scrambled toward the light. I carefully peered over the squat bushes.

And there it was, nestled in the weeds and dark green leaves. It was the largest, brightest, most _beautiful_ gemstone I'd ever seen in my entire life! Of all time! It's glow was constant, rising and falling slightly in intensity; like a heartbeat. Without even thinking, I picked it up, holding it tightly in both hands. It was warm. Tingly. Full of…of power! Through the light, I could see my face reflected in the flawless green facets. Wide eyes. Open mouth.

I knew exactly what this was.

…and I could not wait to tell them!

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**...If any of you guys wanna kill me and/or severely maul me, I deserve it.  
I am so very, intensely sorry I've neglected my writing. Deviant Art and my brain scribbles just...distracted me, and I forgot for a while that I was HERE first, and that I have people counting on me for my stories, because you guys like them so much. Thank you, and I'm sorry! Things will be better from now on!**

**If anything, thank ZehHyperactiveAuthor for galvanizing me into action! I owe you so much! Expect an answer from me!**

**Running Rings will NOT DIE! (it just hibernated or something while I doodled around like an idiot...)  
I hope this chapter is satisfactory. It's kinda a filler, along with a bit of the next one, but things will pick up I swear!**

**Coming up Next: Elise has a resolution, and a startling new discovery? How will the hedgies react? And will they be the only ones who will know? Tune in next time!**

**(Yes, there WILL be a next time! Sorry!)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Dedicated to ZehHyperactiveAuthor. Happy summer, and thanks for keeping this story alive!**

* * *

Chapter 9

"…_well."_

"_Mmm."_

"_At least, now we know what to fix, right?"_

"…"

"_Yeah, but…it kinda takes the wind out of your sails. How many others have noticed this much?"_

"_As long as she cooperates, the damage will be minimal."_

"…_yeah."_

* * *

"A-Louie, Louie! Oh baby! Ah-I gotta go now! Da-da! Da-da-da! Da-da! A-Louie, Louie! OH-oh-oh baby! I really gotta go now! Da-da! Da-da-da! Da-da!"

Shuffling through the halls, I sang with gusto, happily ignoring the stares I was getting.

"And I don't remember, the rest of the words. But I'll keep on singing, so then I'll be _heard_! Hey man, it's Friday, so let things hang loose! On to the parties! I'm going with youz!"

Heh, not to brag or anything, But I'm pretty good at free styling if I do say so myself.

I waved to one of my friends as I weaved into the chorus. I was in the best mood I could possibly be in, without bouncing off the walls. Especially on a Friday morning! Not to mention that I was sleep deprived again. After my miraculous find yesterday, I'd barely slept a wink. I couldn't stop staring at it, deep into those flawless glowing facets. I was practically drooling− since, you know, I LOVE shiny things− in happy excitement until a not-so-happy thought brought me crashing back into reality.

This thing had power, and a lot of it. And a homicidal ego-maniac scientist from another dimension wanted this power to take over and/or destroy the world.

I hid it in my closet after that.

I brushed past unusually tall sophomores without really seeing them, the songs in my head fading away.

If I had to be honest, the thing was…a little freaky. It was pretty and all that, but I wasn't sure if I liked the affect it had on me; that lust for speed. At first, it had been enjoyable, but there was no agency to it, there was no control. It was too…_wild_. Crazy. Scary.

Chaos. Was that what it felt like?

But then, I reasoned, sliding into my history class, I'm just a human in a boring ordinary dimension. What would I know? Absolutely nothing, compared to Sonic, Shadow, and Silver, who were up to their pointy ears with this stuff. It was better for me, and them, to leave this to the professionals.

And with that, I was back to being perfectly giddy as we went through the horrors of WWI.

Unfortunately, I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing.

"So, what's that supposed to be?"

I looked up to see a classmate who sat next to me, peering closely at the paper I'd been doodling on for the past thirty minutes. That's when I realized with a thrill of complete panic, what it was I'd drawn. My stomach dropped.

Sonic smirked up at me, casually leaning against an invisible wall in the middle of the page. And all around him were heads and various figures of Silver and Shadow. There were even little chibi versions of the hedgehogs prancing around at the bottom of the page, chasing little Chaos Emeralds! The faces were a little off, along with the bodies, but the quills were unmistakable. Hedgehogs. Hedgehogs _everywhere_! Had I no self-control? Couldn't I even think?

"OH! That is− um, er…ha-ha-ha! This? Heh−" I started a mindless babble as I broke into a cold sweat , my insides twisting into a pretzel. "I…uh, I don't really _know_ really. I just− you know…random ideas! Ha-Ha!"

I sounded demented.

My classmate thankfully didn't notice. Frowning, he held up the doodle page and looked closer. "You know…they kinda remind me of the Hedgies."

My heart skipped a beat.

I very, _very_, carefully took the page back, smiling through clenched teeth. "Me too! Weird huh? Maybe they were the inspiration, seeing as they're so…er, exotic, you know?"

My voice was steadily climbing higher. A muscle at the corner of my mouth twitched, making my fake smile jump around.

"Yeah, well it's frickin' awesome, as usual." He said with a shrug. "Can you give me some of that talent?"

I half-chuckled, more than a little relieved that we'd stopped talking about the 'Hedgies'. "Thanks. And as soon as I figure out a way, you'll be the first to know!"

Class carried on, so we stopped talking after that. But I sat for a moment, frowning at my doodle paper. That was close. _Too _close! Shadow may have asked for help on hiding, but I needed more work than they did. I needed to be more careful!

…aaaaaaannd I had to fix their faces; it didn't look right.

Shadow's hands were off.

Silver's head was the wrong shape.

Sonic looked like an anorexic bean pole.

I kept kit-picking at the sketches, being a little more sneaky about it. Once you got past the facial wonkyness, they were actually pretty fun to draw! I spent the rest of the hour doing this, stopping only when I had to.

I was finishing a sketch of Shadow bellowing at a yawning Sonic when the bell rang. In the jumble of voices around me, I quietly packed my stuff away, staring at the jam-packed doodle page on top of my textbook. Duke sagging heavily on my shoulder, I set off again through the hallways, my eyes glued to my drawings. People brushed past me, hazy images of color in the corner of my eye. I had no idea why, but−

Something impacted with my forehead so hard, I jerked to a halt and my head snapped back. I stared with blank-faced shock into Shane's glittering red eyes. His gloved palm was firm against my face, his arm straight. The sudden appearance was so unexpected, that I didn't move or anything for a few seconds. I blinked up at him, and he raised one black eyebrow.

"Uh…hey." I said, meekly.

"Watch where you're going." He replied, but he didn't look, or sound, like his usual angry annoyance. He seemed more…apathetic. Bored.

Shane must've seen me trudging towards him without a clue about the world around me. All he'd done was hold out his arm, and I walked right into it.

I gave him a small, sheepish smile, feeling like an idiot. "Right. Sorry."

Shane let go of my head and bent down, picking up a piece of paper off the floor. In doing so, I noticed that he looked different. He was wearing a black Volcom jacket and dark jeans. It didn't take away from his ridiculously good looks, but it was an interesting change!

And then I noticed exactly what it was he was looking at.

School Life Lesson # 15; Never leave loose leaf paper on top of textbooks. Sudden movements will cause said paper to slid off.

Shane was looking at the doodle page.

My heart decided no to skip a beat, and stopped beating altogether.

"Hmm."

That was all he said. No exploding, no glaring, no immediate dismemberment. Nothing actually…just the subtlest changes in his eyes. I couldn't make out what he was thinking, but since he wasn't trying to kill me, I cautiously let myself relax.

"Er…yeah, not the best decision I've made, doing that. But the likeness isn't too bad, right?"

The mask of annoyance slid back into place, and he opened his mouth, about to say something, when his face abruptly darkened. His eyes snapped back into two volcanoes of promised death as he glared over my head, hints of a snarl twisting the corner of his mouth.

I'd seen _that_ look before, many times in fact.

…

Not all that fun to see up close though. Stupidly, I felt fear bubbling in the pit of my stomach. Then, feeling even stupider, I realized that Shane wasn't looking at me. I turned around.

The puffy scratches on 'Mad-Max's face were still a bright cherry red. It made the ugly look he was giving me even more so as he glared, his two friends hovering behind his shoulders.

It was very unsettling to be looked at with so much hatred. I was used to Shadow's displays of animosity simply because I figured there was some bad blood between the black hedgehog and the humans of his world. But this…

I'd done something stupid that day, stepping in to save a weird whirlwind of blue and taking on three others who were easily twice my size and weight. True, my life slowly turned into an adventure after that…but I _never_ thought that I'd ever regret it! Being liked was something I honestly craved, and seeing those eyes filled with loathing made me feel so…

Oh great. I could feel the depression coming on. That happened from time to time. Sigh.

But as I was reeling with emotions, trying to figure out what to do with myself, Shane's hand suddenly came down on the top of my head, making me jump. Before I could ask, or even say anything, he pulled me back against his chest.

…

Yeah. I _still_ feel surprised every time I look back on that moment.

I blinked in confusion, peering up at Shane. What was he doing? His piercing red eyes were still solidly fixed on the seniors. Looking over to them, I saw 'Mad Max' flinch. His glare lost most of its power, and he and his buddies quickly hurried away.

We stood there for a moment; one of us completely impervious to the stares of everyone walking past, and the other extremely aware of it. You can tell who was who, right?

Barely a second had passed before Shane let go of me and stepped away. Massaging the top of my head− he had a really firm grip!− I stared up at the hedge-teen with wide eyes. He wasn't looking at me, those eyes burning with contempt as they followed after the seniors.

A sudden thought struck me like a thunderbolt. This was the second time Shane had protected me of his own free will. Sure, the moment in the library had been him acting on an obligation, but he been protective afterwards, like now? It felt that way. I seriously owed him an 'Almost-Life Debt'.

And with that, another realization struck home. I had completely forgotten to apologize to him last night for being such a brat. Telling him now was the least I could do, right? Especially after what had just happened.

But before I could even open my mouth, he turned and began walking away, his back straight and his hair swaying from side to side.

"Oh no you don't!" I muttered under my breath, dashing after him in a perfect reflection of yesterday; except that this time, my intensions were completely opposite.

And I didn't exactly ambush him either.

"Shane! Hey wait! Shane!"

I wasn't checking on how fast I was going, plus my shoes weren't the greatest when it came to friction. So when Shane looked around, he was forced to thrust out his hand and stop me _again_.

His expression said it all. Now I was just annoying, please go away. I didn't let that get to me though. This time I was going to get this done right!

"What?" He asked flatly when I didn't immediately say anything. I was a bit breathless from eagerness and sudden sprinting.

"I…I need to…hawh!" Okay, make that very breathless. How did this guy cover ground so quickly? "I need…to talk to you."

He looked at me a moment, then grabbed my elbow, pulling me into a doorway so we weren't in the flow of traffic. Shane looked down at me expectantly, his eyes holding my gaze. Everything he'd done ran through my head again, and I smiled up at him.

"Thank you."

Really! Those two little words were marinated with heartfelt feelings, sprinkled and spiced with friendship-love, and shoved into the Sincerity Oven to bake at four-fifty degrees.

He blinked, very obviously taken aback.

"I wanted to thank you…and to apologize for how I treated you yesterday. That was uncalled for, and I'm sorry. You have enough stress on your shoulders without me adding to the load."

He blinked again, but seemed to pull himself together. With an intriguing ripple effect in his shiny black and red hair, he gave me the smallest of nods.

Yay! Forgiveness from the cactus hog!

…ahem.

"And there's something else!" I added. Excitement seemed to fizzle on my skin. He was going to love this!

"I found one!" I half-whispered before grinning to see how he'd react.

Boy did he react!

The air whooshed out of my lungs as Shane grabbed my shoulders, pinning my arms to my sides like an accordion.

"_An Emerald?_" He hissed, eyes wide, his hair actually bristling with shock.

"HuRK!" Was all I could say. With barely enough air to breathe, I nodded.

He gaped at me for a second, before staring off into space with triumph in his eyes. His gloved hands released me and I gulped in huge breaths of sweet, sweet oxygen. Holy cow, just how strong was he?

Shane's internal celebration was very brief.

"Where?" He demanded.

"At my house. You can come and get it tonight if you want."

He surprised me by nodding, staring into space again. The red of his eyes glittered with cold calculation. I could almost see the cogs turning beneath the black and red strands framing his facing. Just looking at him made me itch for a pencil so I could capture his expression on paper. Even if I was terrible with humans…

"..rs know?" Shane said from far away.

I blinked. "What?"

"Do the others know?"

Smiling again, I shook my head. "Nope."

His eyes flashed back to me and I grinned wider. "I figured you should be the first to know!"

He didn't reply, but his opinion of me just might've changed. This day was getting better and better!

* * *

"It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I'm waiting now." I sang lightly under my breath, staring up at my be3edroom ceiling. Which was true, by the way. I'd been way too excited for sleep. I rolled over, glowering at the wall.

"Said they all would come, so I got the Emerald here, come and get it now."

Also true. Shane had cornered me at the end of school to talk to me about the initial pick up. Actually, make that scaring the daylights outta me.

The moment the final bell had rung, I'd still been grinning and feeling like a million bucks. Silvester and Sam had been so happy when I told them about my find. Sam gave me an enthusiastic high-five− which I had to jump to reach− and Silvester just stared, hope shining in his topaz eyes. So you can imagine that my guard wasn't particularly up as I walked into the hallway.

"You!"

"_HYAHH!_"

Now…I didn't just jump. I _spasmed_ with fear as Shane's eruptive voice sounded directly behind me! With a lurch, I staggered against the wall, my heart pounding. You may think I overreacted, but I need you to imagine that you're in a meadow, a cute peaceful meadow with long grass, and butterflies and−GRRAAWRH!

A manticore straight from Hades roars in your face.

Get the picture? Yeah.

I stared wildly up at Shane, panting. "Don't. Flipping. _Do_ that!"

He frowned. "Come again?"

I stood straighter, one hand at my chest. "You nearly gave me a heart attack man! Make noise when you walk! Holy crap−"

"Take me to your home."

"…say whut?"

I only use 'whut' when I'm really surprised.

Shane glared his 'no-nonsense' glare and repeated himself. "Take me to your home. Quickly."

I mentally shook my head, clearing away the shock of such a random moment.

"Is this about the EmMMMPH!"

His hand clamping around my mouth was answer enough. And what followed was the most awkward drive ever.

Shan had stared out of the window, obviously taking in every detail as I tried to concentrate on driving. True, our relationship had taken little steps in the right direction, but he still scared me. I think it was the quiet anger I could feel coming out of him sometimes. Whether as Shane or as Shadow, he always seemed angry, bitter. It reminded me of what Sam had said. _Shane's early life was…rough, extremely rough. He's still dealing with the scars._

I wondered what kind of pain he was dealing with right now…and if I could ever help.

Echoing explosions distracted me. Who in their right mind would set off fireworks at this time? I rolled over again, waiting for them to die out.

I sat up when they continued and seemed to get louder.

On impulse, I grabbed the Chaos Emerald, which I'd wrapped up in a scarf. Slipping down the stairs, I looked out the window, past my cowering dog, to the ominous flashes of light on the horizon. The booms of explosions were getting louder, which meant closer, which meant−

I clenched the Emerald tighter, fear punching through me as the chatter of gunfire could be heard. '_Oh no!_'

Without a thought, I flung open the front door and ran out into the yard. What looked like…clusters of stars were zooming around and firing at…

I started to feel sick, the fear inside me morphing into terror. My body knew what this meant, even if my brain couldn't put it into words. My breathing hitched and I felt cold as a cluster detached itself from the fight, flying high and closing in on…on me! I heard the roar of jets as the thing dived, coming straight at me. This wasn't school! This wasn't a bunch of bullies! This was−! I was frozen! I couldn't move! My mouth open in terror, I−I couldn't think!

Something slammed into me, and suddenly I was flying! I couldn't see anything but dark, streaky blurs, but I could hear just fine.

"Elise! Just hang on!"

"Sonic!" The sound of his voice jolted me into speech.

"What's−? What's happening? Sonic?"

He gripped me tighter, weaving around houses filling up with lit windows.

"It's okay! I've got you!"

We were in fields now, the awful sounds of jets behind us, getting closer!

I screamed as gunfire lit up the night, peppering the ground feet away from us. Sonic swore, and swerved so suddenly I felt my heart jump into my throat. I closed my eyes, not even able to scream anymore! The only that kept me free falling into hysteria was the feel of Sonic's heart pounding against my chest, his quick panting above my head.

The jets roared louder above us, then without warning, there was an explosion so loud, I couldn't hear myself scream. This…this was a nightmare!

"_Wake up hedgehog!_" Shadow bellowed from somewhere in this madness.

"Keep them off our back, I need some time!" Sonic shouted back, his throat vibrating against my throbbing ears, desperation etched in his voice.

More shouting, more gunfire, but it was farther away now. Sonic stopped, and I was forced to open my eyes as he set me down behind some bushes.

"Sonic−"

"Just keep your head down and−"

"Sonic, the Emerald!"

He stared at the bundle I was miraculously still holding in my rigid hands. He gently took it from me and unwrapped it. The green glow lit up his face, highlighting the grim determination in his eyes.

The machines whizzed towards us, jets screaming, lights flashing.

With one fluid movement, Sonic turned and flung himself into the sky. For a moment, he hung in space, the Emerald clutched in his hand. Then, he curled up into a ball and vanished with a blast like the sound of a cannon.

There were seven, near simultaneous explosions when Sonic appeared on the ground again, barely a second later. The strength, the power, the _speed_, took my breath away. Flaming debris rained down as he walked back to me, slipping the Emerald behind his back. He bent down, and placed both hands on my shoulders, gazing into my eyes. As the sudden silence took hold, the full impact hit me, and I broke down completely. Without a word, Sonic pulled me into a hug, his hands rubbing my back.

I held onto him tightly, shaking and sobbing into his fur. The terror gushed out of me with the tears, and when I could, I finally spoke.

"_I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!_"

I said it over and over again, my heart aching with fear and shame. Sorry that I was scared. Sorry that I hadn't thought before acting. Sorry that I wasn't strong enough for this. It seemed a lifetime ago when I had found the Emerald, when I had made the choice to bear the burden of knowing the hedgehogs, of helping them. Only now, did I realize how difficult this choice was going to be. This was my reality check. And the pain of how much I didn't understand hurt so badly.

Sonic didn't say anything. He just held me, comforting me with his body's warmth. His silent understanding did more than words ever could as my tears matted his fur together, and sirens wailed in the distance.

* * *

***drags in crate of tomatoes* If you so wish, you guys can throw these at me. Heaven knows I deserve it. TT_TT  
I'm really, really sorry everyone. This could've been up months ago. MONTHS. But it never happened. Deviant art took over me completely, and I forgot that I was here first. (So hopefully this long chapter will appease you? ^^; )**

**I have no intention of letting this story die out, and now I'm going to be getting back into the swing of things.  
The gears are turning now, in more ways than one!**

**Next Time: Danger is sudden and real. What were those machines? Will Elise find the strength for this adventure? What will the next day bring? Find out next time!**

**Read and Review please, even tho I don't deserve it.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"_The fool! What was she thinking?! She could've gotten herself killed running out like that!"_

"_Actually, it was a good thing she did! If she hadn't, those drones would've attacked the house. And from what I understand, she's still keeping this a secret from her family."_

"_How do you figure?"_

"_Well…for one thing, her parents would have done something by now, don't you think? Parents have a habit of interfering cause they worry."_

"_Besides, she found the emerald, so now things will be getting a little easier."_

"…_Hmm."_

"_I just hope she's okay. She was really shaken up by all of this."_

* * *

I kept my eyes closed as I snuggled deeper into the covers, holding my stuffed dog Riley tightly against my chest. The sun was rising, the light brightening my room. I pressed my face into my pillow to block it out. A long while later, I heard my bedroom door open, and my mom's quiet voice.

"Elise?"

I didn't move, my back to the door, my breathing even. After a moment, she carefully closed the door and walked away. I was grateful that she was letting me be. I still wasn't quite ready to face the day. I felt a sick burning of shame every time I thought of last night. After I was done using Sonic's shoulder as a personal washcloth, he'd whisked me back to my house just before my mom and dad came bursting out. Instinctively, I'd ran to my mom and started crying all over again.

There was the sobbing, the holding, and the question asking; endless questions. But I couldn't answer any of them. I just…couldn't. Even if I wasn't completely incoherent, I had no excuses. My parents seemed to understand that however. They didn't pester me for details as the neighborhood erupted.

There was the smoking wreckage of twisted debris littered everywhere, weeds and alfalfa burning, dogs howling in panic and excitement. But…at least the hedgehog's had an Emerald now…right?

I bit my lip, squeezing my eyes so tightly closed, it almost hurt. What did hurt was that I wasn't able to cope with this. They were counting on my help, and if I couldn't hack it, then I was less than useless to them!

_Knock, knock, knock!_

I opened my eyes. There was something blocking the light. I rolled over and saw…Silver! He was floating outside my window in a turquoise haze. He looked exhausted, bags underneath his large golden eyes, but he was sporting a small smile, one fist raised to knock.

"Wha–?!"

I leapt up and opened the window as quickly as I could. Silver climbed in and tumbled gratefully onto the floor. His platinum quills weren't in their neat curve, but were disheveled, sticking up in every direction. Even the sprouts on his head were drooping. Dirt, dust, and oil were smudged all over his fur, the white puff of his chest matted in clumps. He looked…downright terrible, but his smile was genuine as he looked up at me.

"Hello."

I gaped at him, and when I could finally speak, I spluttered.

"I–you–what–Sil–_Silverwhatareyoudoinghere_?!" I flapped my arms like a deranged bird. "My parents are up and about, and aren't you supposed to change back soon?!"

Silver stood up and attempted to tame a few quills that were sticking out of place. "Actually, I came here to see you. I know there's a risk, but it's nothing I'm new to."

He shot me a look, peering intensely into my eyes. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No!" I blurted.

He smiled again.

"And as for the transformation," he continued, walking past me and sitting on my bed. "I have time, plus Shadow let me take the Emerald. I can just Chaos Control back."

I sat down next to him, doing my best to keep my face smooth. "Chaos Control."

"To manipulate time and space. I can use it to teleport to our apartment."

Flashes of last night swam before my eyes. The bullets whizzing over my head, the explosions that hurt my head, Sonic flying faster than sight and sound…

"I see."

I didn't recognize my own voice. Then Silver's large, warm hand came down on my own, and I looked up into his topaz eyes. They were whirling with honest concern, gleaming with an intensity that struck my heart.

"Elise, are you alright?"

His voice was nearly made me cry; his question simple, with no pity. I'd screwed up out there, but he still cared about me. I smiled at him, my eyes pricking.

"I'm…I'm okay Silver. It's just…" My voice trailed off as I stared off into space for a moment.

"Last night was a reality check for me. I wasn't prepared for this like I thought I was. I'm…I'm not strong enough to…to help properly."

There. It was out in the open. My heart throbbing with that small pain again, I waited for judgment. But rather than disdain, Silver squeezed my hand gently, his eyes soft.

"Do you know, Sonic first started fighting Eggman when he was six years old?"

"What?" I stared at him, speechless.

Silver nodded, an amused smile twisting his lips. "Yes. Literally, his entire life has been one constant struggle against him. I myself got involved when I was fourteen."

His smile became warm. "Don't feel like you're not enough Elise. You've helped us more than you know. You've been a friend to us, and it was _you_ who found the very first Chaos Emerald after all."

That made me laugh a bit, and then we just sat there on my bed in an easy silence. It was a comfort to have him there by my side. The clock ticked and the minutes stretched on, but…I felt so much better now. A happy little bubble was growing inside me, chasing away my fear and doubt. I was still pretty tired though, so my head ended up on Silver's shoulder somehow. I felt him smile, and he made no movement to push me away, which made me feel happier. With my fear out of the way though, curiosity was building. I wanted to know just what exactly those things were that the hedgehogs were fighting last night, but…I just couldn't bring myself to ask that just yet. I wanted this moment to last. True, I was still terrified, but now that I knew what to–somewhat–expect, I was going to commit myself one-hundred percent to the cause!

I wouldn't be able to live with myself otherwise if I let down these creatures that I fully called my friends.

* * *

Once again, the school was buzzing. But this time, I listened in with as much concentration that I could spare while walking through a crowded hallway at the same time. I imagined that some secretive and cool spy music was playing in my mine as I tuned in to the excited voices passing me by.

"Did you hear about it?"

"What do you think it was?"

"Nothing like this happens around here!"

"Do you think it _was_ a plane accident?"

"Pssh, no way! I think the military was involved! They found bullets man!"

"Who was that girl on the news?"

"I dunno…wait! Isn't that her right there?!"

Oh sut! I felt the stares and sped up, weaving through the crowd.

The newscast on Saturday night had complicated things _immensely_. Since people had undoubtedly called 911 after it sounded like Armageddon had come right outside their homes, naturally the press came following right behind the sirens.

Guess who couldn't get out of the line of sight fast enough.

Yep. You're talking to the soul witness right here. Hooray for fame! (That would be sarcasm again folks.)

I thank my dad for fending off the flashing lights and rolling cameras as my mom rushed me into the house, but…

I thought about what could have happened, and repressed a shudder. Even if I had been able to talk just then, what would I have said? _I don't know what I saw, but it has nothing to do with flying machine guns, magical gemstones, and super fast anthropomorphic hedgehogs from a different dimension!_

Two things: Full scale investigation and hello Happy House.

"They're coming to take me away, ha-ha!" I sang under my breath avoiding curious stares and ducking into the school bandroom.

"Hey! It's Elise!"

"Elise, did you see it?!"

"What happened out there?!"

Oops.

People came at me from all sides; my classmates yelling questions left, right, and center. They were the exact questions my parents had asked, so I had my defense ready.

I kinda had to shout to be heard above the noise, but this wasn't a problem. I call myself short, but a good friend of mine called me 'compressed' quoted, unquote. In other words, I'm really good and being really loud.

Anyway.

"GUYS!" I bellowed, and silence fell. Eager faces looked at me from every direction and I sighed, slumping over and looking tired.

"I don't know…what I saw" I looked down, my voice trembling slightly. "I don't know w-what happened. I was terrified okay?!"

I stared at them, my voice breaking with my plea, my eyes starting to tear up. The teens around me started to look guilty, shuffling their feet and averting their eyes.

"I don't know anything, but I really don't want to talk about it, ok? Please?" My throat constricted, and I looked down again, holding my arm.

Instantly, they apologized. There was much hugging from the girls, and 'I'm Sorry's and pats on the back from the boys. I nodded to them all, jerked my backpack higher, and headed to backroom to put away my things on my shelf. Only when I was alone did I square my shoulders and secretly grinned.

Who said I couldn't act?

I felt a little pang of guilt for the deception and the guilt-tripping of my friends, but I didn't have a choice. It was for the greater good.

'_I'd like to thank the academy…'_ I grumbled in my head as I walked to class.

I kept up the charade whenever I got cornered, and it worked mostly. For the more stubborn-slash-smart ones, I had to make myself get more and more upset. I actually made myself cry once, which made my interrogators back off instantly. All it took was calling back that special feeling of shame I'd had a while ago to open the waterworks.

By the time lunch came, I felt exhausted.

"Suck it up and deal with it hon." I muttered, leaning against a pop machine and wearily pulling at Duke. "You decided to commit, so commit. You can handle it."

"_Hey freak!_"

…really? Are you serious Universe? _Really_?!

The hulking seniors bore down on me, circling me on all sides. The scratches I had left on 'Mad Max's face had finally healed.

Eh…somewhat.

He leered at me, fully aware that I was on my own.

"So, it looks like you saw what went down on Friday."

"Yeah," I said slowly. I felt nervous, especially since my nails had been cut down to nubbins yesterday, so that was one weapon lost to me. But I had an idea…

"But I didn't really see much, so you're wasting your time–"

"Bull*bleep*!" he snarled, stepping closer, the other two following suit.

Duke slid to the floor with a thump. My backpack would only slow me down. I stood firm and glared up at him. It was time I fought my own battle for a change!

"Back off stripes, or you'll regret it!"

His eye twitched, but he grinned nastily. "Your freaky emo bodyguard isn't here to save your a–"

"CHARRRRRRGGEE!"

I pounced, scaring the crap out of them with my battle cry. I scrabbled onto his back and wrapped both arms and legs around his beefy neck. Before 'Mad Max' had time to react, I shouted "SPARTA!" and heaved forward.

Hard.

With an almighty _WHUMP_, we toppled over onto the floor. On the moment of impact, I jumped up and dashed down the hall.

"Midget, AWAY!"

"_Get back here!"_

Much running and swearing later, I managed to lose them at the colossal lunch line, so I made my way back to where I'd left Duke lying on the floor.

…Duke who suddenly wasn't there.

"Wha–? Now I know I left him right here.."

"Oh! Is he yours?"

I turned around and smiled up at Sam's teasing smirk. One gloved hand held the straps, the other was placed at his hip.

"Yes actually. Thanks!" I said, taking back Duke. Sam grinned, his jade eyes twinkling.

"That was quite a show earlier." He commented, putting his hands in his pockets and tilting his head. "At first, I was going to step in, but you had it in the bag."

I smiled, slinging Duke over my shoulder. "Thanks. Do you think they'll ever just let it go?"

He pretended to think about it, one red sneaker tapping the floor. Then…

"Nope!"

We both laughed at that. Students walking past us shot looks at me, still muttering theories to each other. Sam seemed to notice that, because he fixed me with a look and asked, "How're you holding up?"

I thought for a moment, going through everything that had happened to me since I first learned of their secrets. I smiled again.

"I'm doing great!"

His eyes sparkled, and he smiled back, understanding perfectly. He raised his hand for a fist bump, which I returned happily.

But it was only then that I noticed the gaudy poster over Sam's shoulder that had not been there ten minutes ago. I groaned in horror.

!HARVEST DANCE!

Once in a Blue Moon

Girl's choice dance!

Buy tickets in advance

and

Ask your dates now!

…So not cool Universe. So not cool.

* * *

**...yeah, STILL getting into the swing of things. In my defense, drawing is my first instinct, not writing.**

**But hey, Update! Hoorah! A bit of a filler, but a setup for the next chapter! (Also, in case anybody doesn't know, Duke is the backpack. ^^)  
**

**Next Time: A new complication arises! Plus danger is suddenly so much closer! So is Elise's ties to her hedgehog friends.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

_"Any luck on pinpointing the next one?"_

_"…There's the possibility of one south of our position. It's worth investigating. "_

_"Sonic is on watch right now, so I'll stay if you want to look."_

_"Hmm."_

* * *

It was a problem. It was a serious issue. It was a crisis.

…Well.

It was a crisis on a small, superficial, personal level.

The dance. The Girl's Choice Dance.

I know, I know, it's not that big of a deal. I mean, compared to…oh I don't know, Global Domination or death, this was a small fry. Insignificant.

But…

My friend had asked me to ask him to the dance, and I had yet to answer him.

Please allow me a selfish moment audience.

This was one of the few, rare times that a boy saw me as…well, as a girl. Usually, I'm just entertainment to the masses. Now, there's nothing wrong with that, but a TV can be just as funny. Who would date a TV?

So I was stuck with some serious indecision. I was afraid that if I said yes, the hedgehogs would need me that night, and I'd miss everything. _ But_, I was also afraid that if I said no, the hedgehogs wouldn't need me and I'd miss everything anyway!

This puzzle was the reason I couldn't sleep.

I glared at the rails of my bed, grumbling internally. What mostly bothered me was that this was a battle between what I knew I had to do, and what I wanted. I felt like a brat; selfish. I'd made my choice hadn't I? I'd committed myself right?!

…Ooh, but I _really_ wanted to go!

My window creaked slightly, most likely from a late night breeze. I sighed and rolled over.

If a large hand hadn't clamped down over my mouth, I would've screamed bloody murder.

"Whoa! Hey, hey it's me! Calm down!"

Sonic's anxious whisper did calm me down, but only just. I am painfully easy to terrify, so seeing a still, spiky figure with huge eyes standing in my room…ugh. It doesn't present the greatest image after midnight. I'm sure both of us were thanking our lucky starts from Sonic's quick reflexes.

Breathing shakily, I pushed away his hand. "_What are you doing here?!_" I hissed.

"Keeping an eye on you, what else?" He grinned shamelessly, one perky blue ear twitching. I tried to ignore the adorableness.

"Yes, but why?"

He rolled his eyes, then plopped himself down on my bed, his large head cushioned by the many pillows I had.

"Why do you think? After what happened last week, we couldn't take any chances. Eggman has a habit for going after those he thinks can't fight back, and there's a very good chance that he knows about you. So," he concluded, locking his hands behind his head and grinning widely, "We've been guarding you at night."

My blood went cold. It felt like all of my insides had turned to stone..

"…_Every_ night?!" I asked hoarsely.

"Yep! We've been taking it in turns to watch ya. It'll be Shadow's turn tomorrow." Sonic's whisper was saturated with unabashed cheerfulness, which only made things worse. I was vividly aware that my remaining stuffed animals were on display by the window, and that my room was a horrible mess. Plus…I had a sneaky suspicion that I was sleepwalking at night.

But…once the shock wore off, I felt a warm feeling in my chest. They cared about me enough to give up a night of Emerald hunting-slash-sleep. They'd be willing to sit here in my room all night long to watch over me. My eyes pricked.

"Thank you." I said quietly, before smiling slightly. "This has got to be hard for you."

He blinked. "Huh?"

I smiled wider, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. "Well you always seem to be on the go, so staying in one place for over six hours just to watch a person sleep has to be awful for an active guy like you."

Sonic rubbed his head, grinning sheepishly. "Well yeah, it is a _little_ boring, but it's worth it."

The gentle gleam that entered those green eyes when he said that nearly made me cry. How lucky I was that these hedgehogs had stumbled into my life! Or…lucky that I had stumbled into theirs.

"Besides," continued Sonic. "I've been reading a few of your books to pass the time. I didn't know you had a thing for vampires."

…Kay. Forget about protecting me. Never enter this room again.

* * *

"I'm sorry, but I can't ask you to the dance."

_It's the right choice. It's the right choice. It's the right choice. _I chanted silently to myself as my friend's face fell. It hurt to crush this guy's hopes, but…

"Things are a little hectic at home right now. I'm sorry."

"Well…okay." He mumbled, his blue eyes downcast.

Oh mimph! I didn't want to hurt him; he was one of my good friends! But I'd been thinking this over for a few days, and it had to be done.

"I…I'll see you at lunch alright?"

"Yeah…sure."

He walked away his shoulders slumped. I felt a small pang of regret at his obvious disappointment, but I pushed it away.

"It's for the greater good." I whispered, watching him go. In this, I had to sacrifice things too, so I would no regrets over this.

The bell rang. With a sigh, I turned to go to my next class.

I froze as my eyes locked with bright crimson ones. Shane Hedgeland stood less than ten feet away from me, his face unreadable as he stared at me. I stared back, unmoving. His gaze was so piercing…I was unable to move even if my life depended on it. Did he hear everything? He knew full well that nothing 'hectic' was going on at home; they all did. Did he know what I was doing? His face suddenly sharpened from passive to anger, all but cutting me with his eyes. He contemptuously turned on his heel and strode away, the crowd cringing away from him slightly. I eventually made my way to English, my eyes unfocused. Just what was _that_ all about?

As Shane, he didn't care much for me. Actually, he usually ignored me. And as Shadow…well, he'd been against me from the start. So his behavior just now shouldn't be as surprising as it was. But then again… what about the moment in the library? And again in the hallway? Hadn't he defended me freely then? That meant he didn't hate me…right?

But…that disgusted look on his face…what'd I do?

My head spun in answerless circles as I sat down to my desk. Shane was an enigma. A verrrrrrrrryyy scary one. I could barely focus as the class hour spiraled past. When the bell for lunch rang, I sat unmoving, still confused. A few looks were shot my way, but I barely noticed them.

"Hey, class is over. Wake up."

I snapped out of my reverie. Turns out I wasn't only one still at their desk.

Silvester was slumped over in his desk, his head in arms and fast asleep. Our teacher was standing over him, hands akimbo, and shaking his head.

"Honestly, is eight hours of sleep too much to ask for teens today?" he looked at me. "Wake him up will you? I need to attend a meeting."

He left.

Alrighty then.

I stood up and jammed my stuff into Duke before walking over to Silvester's desk. Silvester wasn't just asleep; he was completely out. His long hair tumbled down his back in silvery waves, the strands shining slightly in the light. A few hairs hung over his face, blowing about as he breathed. From where I stood, I could see the bags underneath his eyes.

I felt a twinge of guilt curl in my stomach; the poor guy. Guard duty, emerald hunting, _and_ end of Trimester tests? They all had to be exhausted!

Nevertheless, I had to get him up.

"Hello? Wake up bud!" I said, shaking his shoulder.

"Mmmngh."

Other than that, zip response.

"Hey!" I hissed, shaking harder. "Wake up!"

"Mmm…Blaze?"

One eye was half open, the golden iris still glazed over in sleep. I paused, surprised. His voice when he'd said that name…it was both wistful and tender.

"_SILVESTER_." I commanded, loudly and firmly. At that, he abruptly woke up.

"Huh? Wha−Elise?"

His baffled eyes fell on me and I held back a chuckle. He had a large red spot on his face from where he'd been lying on the desk.

"Hi. Welcome back to the land of the living." I said, watching him carefully.

He rubbed his forehead, looking sheepish. "I…must've dozed off."

"Mm-hmm."

I teetered on the edge of a decision before taking the plunge. "Uh…who's Blaze?"

Silvester jumped−correction−he jerked in his seat and whipped around, a flustered blush spreading across his face.

"What?!" he yelped, even though I knew full well he'd heard me clearly. I had the decency to look a little embarrassed as I answered.

"Well, you said the name while I was trying to wake you up, so I was just curious."

He looked away, running his hand through his hair; somehow, he didn't get cut by the diamond strands. Must be a hedgehog thing, I dunno…

"Right. Yeah…right."

"You don't have to tell me. I was only asking−"

"No, it's alright."

A blush still lingered on his face, but his golden eyes were gleaming. "Blaze is…She is my very best friend. She's brave, smart, strong…there's no one else like her."

He stared off into the distance, his gaze warm.

My heart was suddenly squeezed tightly by an emotion I couldn't name. I looked down and struggled to get a grip on myself before I spoke.

"Silver…"

I had his full attention then. From the corner of my eye, I saw him turn to face me. We all knew the importance of keeping their true names a secret, so he instantly knew that this was important. At least, it was important to me.

"Can…can I ask you…something?"

"Of course you can! What is it?"

After a moment, I raised my head and looked straight into Silvester's large eyes.

"I…I want to know your story Silver."

I used his name a second time, desperately hoping that he would. I still didn't know what was causing this pain and longing in me, but I wanted to know everything about him. About all of them!

Silvester stared into my eyes, his face unreadable, for a long moment. Then, he smiled gently and nodded.

"Alright."

* * *

By the time school ended, my head was swimming. Silvester and I had spent the entire lunch hour talking in the class. He'd told me everything he could; his childhood, his parents, his friends. He told me about his home, the places he'd been and the battles he'd had to fight. He also told me the reasons why he'd had to travel back in time, thus meeting Sonic. (Actually, he spent almost ten minutes telling me in detail about Blaze the Cat, which was fine with me because the subject made him downright adorable!)

I doubted that an hour was enough to learn about 'Silver the Hedgehog', but life moves on and we had to stop when the bell rang. My empty stomach complained at me, but I was able to snack at my lunch in the back of class. The food helped me dwell on the picture of the telekinetic hedgehog that was being built in my head. I mulled over the details as I walked to my truck at the end of the day.

I stopped dead as I realized who was standing in the bed.

Shane turned his head to stare at me with his usual glare and announced, apropos of nothing, " You lied."

I blinked. "What?"

"You lied." He repeated flatly, stepping out of my truck and onto the pavement. His shoes clanked against the asphalt. "You have no obligations at home whatsoever. Or are you such a coward that you cannot reject him with the truth!"

His voice dripped with contempt, his eyes all but snapping with anger.

…Now, if he'd been talking about anything else, I would've flinched away from his anger. I would've looked away from the disgust in his gaze. But not this time. This time, this surly, pseudo-human hedgehog had crossed the line with me! My own temper flared and I glared at him. How dare he think that of me?! I failed to see how this was any of his business, or why this even mattered to him, but I was _not_ going to take this from him! What right did he have to lecture me?! Huh?!

"Absolutely not!" I spat, bristling like an angry cat. "How low do you think I am?! I would never go behind my friend's back like that!"

My abrupt anger had thrown Shane off. But I saw the surprise quickly pass.

"And yet, you just did." He snarled.

"I had no choice!" I shouted back, blood pounding in my ears. All of a sudden, I was sick of it. I was sick of his glares, sick of his resentment, sick of his anger. I'd done nothing wrong! Why was he like this?!

"I just figured that the safety of the _entire friggin' planet_ was a higher priority than me and some stupid dance!" I continued. It'd been a long time since I'd felt this angry. "How am I supposed to be any help to you if I'm literally dancing around like an idiotic hypocrite?!"

It was a hypothetical question. He answered anyway.

"We don't need your help." He ground out between clenched teeth.

"Yeah? Well guess what!" I shrieked. "I'm going to help whether you like it or not! And nothing you do or say is going to stop me! _Got it_?!"

There was a ringing silence as we glared at each other, red into blue. I was breathing hard, my throat feeling oddly from all the yelling. I felt so mad…I wanted to hit something! He was being so unfair! He…he…

I felt my anger melt away as I stared into the mixture of anger and confusion raging in his eyes. He looked away, grinding his sharpened teeth. He was…confused? If I was reading him right…his confusion was making him angry? He didn't know why this mattered anymore than I did?

I took several deep breaths before walking up to Shane. His long black and red hair swirled in a cold breeze, his ruby eyes lost in conflict. Would it be too difficult to have a normal conversation with him for once? No tempers, no hissy fits, just words? I wanted to try and…and at least form some kind of connection with him. I stepped closer, preparing myself to reach out and touch his hand−

And then, I suddenly wanted to grab his hand and _run_. I wanted to run so hard, so fast, that Shane would barely be able to keep up! I gasped, trying to keep myself in one place as Shane's head whipped around to me. I knew this feeling! I knew exactly what was causing this! I stared up at him, my eyes slightly unfocused.

"Why do you have _that_ with you?!" I asked in disbelief. I was getting used to the pull now that I recognized it, but I hated its influence over me. It was scary.

Shane stared at me, the absolute shock on his face almost comical. "What?!"

"The Emerald." I said, stepping away from him. It took more effort than it should have! Shane's gloved hand shot out and seized my wrist in a tight grip before I could go any farther.

"_How do you know about the Emerald_?" He hissed in an undertone. His eyes were wide, alarmed.

"I can feel it! It messes with my head." I hung in his grip, not even trying to resist. If he held me any tighter, he'd cut off the circulation. Through his hand, I felt him stiffen and I peeked up at his face.

He gaped at me, the oddest expression on his face. It was as if…he was looking at me for the first time. There was some…some kind of understanding in his eyes that suddenly blossomed. Then, his lips pressed into a line and he was instantly serious.

"Come with me."

* * *

**Ha-ha! The fic lives!  
I've still been working on it to improve update times! 3 months...that is not too shabby! ^^**

***bricked***

**...anyway. The plot is starting to roll! Yay!**

**Next time: Where does Elise go with Shane? What is this strange connection she has with Emeralds? And why Vampires?  
Tune in next time! Reviews are appreciated even though I don't deserve them. ^^;**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"_Um, hey! Where's Shadow?"_

"_I don't know. I lost track of him during lunch hour."_

"_Speaking of which, where were you? Not that I was lonely or anything."_

"_Oh. I was with Elise."_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Yes. She said she wanted to know my story."_

"_No wonder you were gone so long. Think she'll ask me?"_

"_Hmm,, without a doubt."_

* * *

Bubble. Hopscotch key. Shower. Football. Light bulb.

Now, pop-quiz everyone! What do all of these words have in common?

…it's okay if you want to take your time with this. I'll wait.

…The answer; they don't. These words, when placed together, make absolutely no sense whatsoever, just like the situation I was currently in.

To recap, I'd bumped into Shane after school. A…less than friendly conversation escalated into me all out shouting at the guy. I'd mentioned that I could feel the Chaos Emerald he was carrying and…now I was driving who knows where while a dark and surly teen from another dimension glared out through my windshield. You see, I'd been so thrown off by the "Come with me" order that I didn't offer much resistance when he literally dragged me into my own truck and told me to drive. We drove for about five minutes in complete silence while my shell-shocked mind struggled to catch up with what had just happened.

"So…" I started, tentatively. "Where are we going?"

"To retrieve the next Emerald." Shane said shortly, still staring out at the road in front of us.

I gaped at him. Not only was I surprised at what we were doing, but I also couldn't believe he'd actually answered me!

"O..kay." I said slowly, braking for the umpteenth time so that I was going the actual speed limit. It was very difficult to drive when a magical gemstone was less than five feet away from you, urging you to go faster.

"And…why do I need to come?" I asked, glancing at Shane. His red eyes narrowed.

"Because you can sense Chaos energy."

"I…I can?"

He turned to look at me, black hair swinging. "Yes. The influence that you can feel from the Emerald is an essence of Chaos energy, a small trace of its power."

His eyes were calculating as they bored into mine. For safety reasons, I looked back at the road.

"Is that normal?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

"In our world, there are precious few that can actually utilize Chaos energy. Mostly, people such as Eggman create machines that can be powered by the Emeralds. While there have been cases, it is rare for humans to be sensitive to Chaos."

His voice lowered, his tone unreadable. "For you to have that ability here isn't just unnerving; it should be impossible.

"Hmm."

…What? That was all I could think to say! The awkward was so thick I could almost taste it. I mean, what am I supposed to say to a hedgehog in disguise who may or may not despise me, depending on his mood? The majority of our meager conversations weren't exactly peaceful. Actually…

"I'm…I'm sorry for shouting at you earlier." I said into the silence. From the corner of my eye I saw him turn to look at me, but I kept focusing on the road. He didn't say anything, but the atmosphere felt better. I figured he'd accepted my apology, because the silence was easier to deal with.

By now we were on the highway, steadily leaving my small hometown behind. Under Shane's direction, the city came into view. Not that it was a _city_-city per say, but more like a much larger town than my hometown that had a mall, a cinema, and larger stores. But, it made more sense to call it a city, since it technically was.

"So it's around here?" I asked as we passed by the mall and several restaurants. "Oh boy, this'll be fun."

"It's close."

I glanced at Shane again. He had one gloved hand inside his jacket, his eyes unfocused above the faux fur collar. I could see the telltale glow of the Emerald, and I fought to keep the speedometer below forty.

"Ok."

"Continue straight."

By now, we were on the busy main street, plazas with major businesses surrounding us. Shane closed his eyes as we drove through one stoplight after another, no doubt concentrating on the 'Chaos Energy' he'd mentioned earlier. I stared at the buildings passing by. Where would a Chaos Emerald be in this place? Had someone else found it already or−

"Here!"

I jumped as Shane's voice rang out sharply.

"Huh? Where?"

"Turn left."

Flustered, I tried to obey quickly without causing a traffic accident. But I raised my eyebrows as we parked in the parking lot.

"A piano store? Why would it be here?"

"Random selection." Shane muttered, zipping up his jacket.

Well…that made sense. Chaos is random isn't it?

On some unspoken agreement, we parted ways the moment we entered the store. I felt a sense of accomplishment as I made my way down rows of pianos, the ivory keys gleaming under the lights. I was finally being some actual use! Plus it was Shane's idea for me to be hear in the first place, which was even better! I'd help them get all of the Emeralds and−

I stopped, my hand stroking with side of a mahogany baby grand. And what? Once they had the Emeralds, they'd defeat this Eggman guy and…they'd leave…wouldn't they?

I forced myself to keep waling as a sudden pain throbbed in my hear.

I…I didn't want them to go, not now that I had just started to know them! They'd turned my small, ordinary life into something incredible, something unbelievable. They'd accepted me−somewhat−and had protected me. And now…

I stopped again, my eyes drawn to a piano tucked away in a corner. It was old, but lovingly restored. The wood was dark, rippling with sepia and hues almost black. The colors shined beneath a subtle polish. I walked towards sit, my thoughts silent, lost in a melancholy that stole over my mind. I was close enough now to see the brass scroll work above the keys. The lid was up, the bench pulled out. Inviting. My chest throbbed again as Sonic's face, joined by Shadow's and Silver's, flickered behind my eyes. I sat down and my hands seemed to automatically lift to the keys.

A melody that I have never heard before floated out from the strings, the sound cool and clear like ice. It pierced me in some deep place inside of me, and both music and emotion came gushing out of me, a song flowing beneath my fingertips. It held a longing, a desperate sound of yearning. It gave voice to a pain and fear as my hands danced across the keys, the piano ringing in my ears. The emotions were rushing through me like an unstoppable river as the music grew to a crescendo. I drowned in them, dimly recognizing the dark hold I was approaching, a chasm that had taken me in complete despair once before. But…

The music slowed, the echoes of pain and fear fading away as a small strain of hope, twinkling like a distant star, sang out into the silence.

I stopped, my heart so full, it felt as though it might burst. My face was wet. I jumped when I felt someone walk up behind me. The fur of Shane's jacket touched the back of my head. Without a word, Shane reached around me, his arm disappearing into the inside of the piano. He pulled back, a Chaos Emerald clutched in his hand, a bright violet glow shining between his fingers before it vanished in his jacket. Then, with a gentleness that startled me, he took my elbow, raising me to my feet.

I followed him out of the now silent shop, wiping my face as I we went.

* * *

We rode in silence once more, neither of us trying to break it. My mind was blank, listless, like it was in shock. It was good that we had found another Emerald, but I…just couldn't bring myself to speak, to talk about. I felt…tired, drained. Once or twice, I'd glanced at Shane to guess at what he was thinking. He'd sat there staring out of the window, his ruby eyes far away. I didn't bother trying to pull him out of it. I had nothing to say.

The silence was broken as we left the city, the sun setting rapidly.

"Pull over." Shane ordered, his eyes hooded.

I did at once, trying−and failing−not to stare as Shane hunched over, biting down on his jacket as the change began. Spines burst from his back, ripping through the fabric. Bones creaked as they were rearranged, causing him to moan in pain. Hairs fused and hardened, becoming razor sharp quills, fur dominating the body as the transformation came to a close.

There was a pause as Shadow ripped off the pants bunched around his legs, casually tossing the torn fabric out of the window. He carefully stored the two Emeralds in…_inside_ his back. The oddness sliced through my mental apathy for a moment. Was there a pouch there or something? Or…what?

We continued as if nothing had happened, but now I felt the flickering of that old curiosity flaring up in me again.

"I didn't realize that each Emerald felt different." I said quietly. Shadow nodded, his arms folded across his white chest.

"Yes. Each Emerald is a representation of Chaos. The green Emerald, the Emerald of Speed, reflecting the speed of decisions of the mind and heart."

He closed his eyes, bowing his head slightly. "The violet Emerald is the Emerald of Emotions. I don't believe I need to explain it."

He looked at my again, his eyes unreadable. I looked away, feeling embarrassed. That explained a great deal now that Shadow had put things into words. The feelings that had rushed through me, amplified by the Emerald, had manifested itself through the song I had played. And Shadow had obviously understood everything when he'd heard me play.

I opened my mouth, unsure of what I was going to say, when he stiffened, his body tense, eyes fixed on the distance.

"What's wrong?"

"Stop the car."

I obeyed instantly. We were in the rural outskirts, the suburban back roads on the way to the highway. I tried to look around his large head to see what was−

"Run!"

"But−"

"_NOW!_"

I flung open the door, scrabbling out of the truck and across the road. I looked back to see Shadow standing on the roof of my truck, facing the east as the twilight deepened. It was then that I saw them, coming closer in the gathering darkness. A thick cluster of lights flying through the sky, a distant rumbling growing louder−

I whipped around, my feet pounding against the ground as I ran. I knew what those lights meant! Night was falling fast as I plunged into an old cemetery, tombstones flashing past me in dark blurs.

"_HRAAUGH!_"

At Shadow's roar, I looked up just in time to see the sky light up in golden fire. I could see him, his lithe body twisting like a dancer as bolts of light flew from his arms. I could see the enemy now as well. Huge flying machines, with large lethal looking guns mounted beneath the wings. Jets attached to a large chassis spewed fire into the air. An angular view port blazed at the 'head', glowing an evil red. There were so many of them, circling and diving at Shadow as he fell through the air. They dodged the bolts, swerving and firing. I cringed, covering my ears from the blasts of gunfire, my eyes wide with horror, unable to look away. How could he survive this?! He was a sitting duck up there!

Shadow rolled over, his body illuminated by the bullets flying around him.

"Chaos…Control!" He bellowed.

And with a burst of green light, he vanished. A split second later, he appeared again, higher up behind the jets before dropping like an avenging angel.

"Chaos _Spear_!" Shadow roared, whipping out his arms once more. The night sky was rent by the bolts of gold energy, and this time they found their mark.

Two of the jets exploded in a fiery flash, shrapnel flying everywhere. I screamed, running further through the graveyard as pieces of burning metal rained down like missiles. I tried to keep Shadow in my sights as I ran. I felt awe mixing with the terror inside me as I watched him. He seemed to be everywhere at once, punching through metal, kicking back the enemy, pounding them into submission. He twisted through the sky, a master of the storm of fire and metal among the stars. Shadow curled, spinning like a blackened buzz saw as he sliced clean through the jet in front of him. I ducked my head as more flew over my head, running flat out through the cemetery.

My foot collided with a low tombstone and I flew forward, crashing onto the ground. Stars burst in my vision as my face slammed into the hard ground. I felt something hot and wet in my mouth. The pain was so sudden and brutal it made my head spin wildly as another explosion shook the earth. I felt rather than saw something slam into the ground next to me, as Shadow cried out.

I raised my head groggily, barely able to see as Shadow plowed into the ground in a field less than ten feet away. The machines swarmed around the crater Shadow was lying in before they changed. Arms and legs shot out of their bulky bodies, the robots landing heavily on the ground, swiping at Shadow with heavy limbs as he hauled himself to his feet. Shadow back flipped, drawing back his arm…

…and screamed as he was enveloped by a maelstrom of white lightning.

They surrounded him, firing this energy at him. They…they were hurting him! Shadow fell to his knees, screaming in pain.

No…no! Stop. Stop it! _Stop it!_

I forced myself to stand, pushing back against the fog in my mind. I had to help him! I need to help him! I looked around frantically, my vision clearing slightly, trying to find something, _anything_, to fight with. But I couldn't−

I saw it, dimly lit from the horrors taking place in the field. Fighting the pain in my bruised legs, I ran to the smoking pipe imbedded in the ground. Shadow screamed again, thrashing vainly against the energy attacking him. His screams pierced me to the core. No, no, no, no, no! Almost sobbing in panic and desperation, I grabbed the pipe and pulled with all of my strength. The rough metal cut my hands, but I managed to yank it out of the earth. Holding it like a sword, I dashed into the field, stumbling over the uneven ground.

"_STOP IT_" I screamed, whacking the nearest robot as hard as I could. The pipe bounced off the armor with a clang, the blow numbing my hands. Unceasing in its attack on Shadow, the robot whirled around just as I lunged forward. With a yell, I plunged the pipe into the robot's face, shattering the view port, the metal rod buried in the head.

The robot spasmed, jerking horribly as an unearthly moan from the energy rose quickly in volume and pitch, the light growing brighter−!

Something slammed into me, sending me flying backward as the robots vanished in a blast of white, the heat and noise squeezing my head painfully as I landed on my back, something warm pinning me to the ground. After what felt like an eternity, I heard a voice, tinny and far away, but growing stronger…

"…ise! Elise! _Elise_!"

I blinked, and Shadow's face slowly came into focus. His eyes were wild, echoing with pain and…and worry? Why was he…huh?

"Wha…what?" I croaked.

Some of the blind panic fell away from his eyes, replaced by anger.

"_What were you thinking?! _You could have been killed!"

He leaned back as I sat up, now fully looking at him. The fur around his face was matted with sweat and dirt, his white splashed chest rising rapidly. I gasped, my mind suddenly remembering everything.

"Shadow! Are you okay?!"

"What?! What do I have anythi−"

"Shadow, _are you okay_?!"

He stared at me in complete confusion, hearing the desperate fear in my voice. After a moment, he slowly nodded.

"….I'm…fine."

Then his face sharpened again. "You're bleeding!"

"Huh?" I then realized that my nose was throbbing horribly, my mouth filled with blood. I gagged, spitting out the blood and grit from the ground. I gingerly touched my face, feeling dried blood coating my nose and mouth.

"O…ow. Ow…" It must've happened when I had fallen. But I was so scared for Shadow that I−

"Hold still."

"What?" I looked up just in time to have Shadow gently hold my face in his hands, gloved fingers covering my eyes. Before I even had time to think, much less say anything, I felt something warm and bright skipping over my face, sinking down through my skin. A pale green light glowed through my eyelids, shining from Shadow's hands. The pain was washed away, the blood disappearing into warm air. My mind cleared, the throbbing fading to nothing.

The light and warmth vanished, and Shadow let go, leaning back. I touched my healed face in wonder, staring into his red eyes. He stared back; watching my face with a serious gleam, as if he was making sure everything was all right.

"Better?"

I nodded, then abruptly flung my arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"I'm so glad you're alright!" I cried, breathing in the sent of his fur. I felt him stiffen in shock, but he didn't push me away as I hugged him. I could feel his pulse, pounding through his veins. It was fast and solid. He was alive. He was okay!

We sat there in a burning field of weeds until the sirens sounded in the distance. They called me back to reality, and I let go of him quickly, standing up and looking away.

"We'd better go before someone sees us!"

Shadow nodded and seized my hand, pulling me into him. I had time to make some sort of surprised squeaking noise, before the world blurred with a powerful whooshing noise.

And then…here was the road. Here was the truck. Here was the hedgehog putting me back down. Here was I…not even trying to think about what just happened.

"Hold onto me and concentrate on your home." He said, squeezing my hand and closing his eyes. His other hand reached out to rest on my truck. I didn't question him. The voices of people and the sirens of police cars were drawing closer. I closed my eyes as well, picturing my house, our driveway.

"Ok."

"Chaos…_CONTROL_!"

* * *

***gasp* C-could it be? TWO UPDATES IN THE SAME MONTH?! It's a miracle!  
****A Merry Christmas/ Happy New Year Gift for you all! I'm happy that you all still like to read this. The mojo has begun to flow again. Yay! ^^**

**Also, I have been waiting to do that Piano Scene for ages! /)^3^(\ Eeeee!**

**Coming up Next: Another Emerald found! But complications will suddenly arise! How will this affect Elise's bonds with the Hedgehogs? Tune in next time! **


	13. Annoucement

Hey everyone.

Work on Running Rings has been really slow lately, BUT I have exciting news!

Somehow, a friend of mine pulled some strings, and Running Rings will be adapted into a podcast with semi-professional voice actors!

*EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE*

The voices are killer and I know you're going to love it! Look up DgShadowChocolate on Youtube to find out more, like the release date and a super special sneak peek! See you there!


	14. Announcement 2 Legit this time!

Hello readers.

Sorry about this false alarm. I didn't mean to get your hopes up, but I needed to get your attention.

I know I was pretty inactive before, but not that college has come back, it's downright impossible to focus on much else. But I'm going to try and come back and finish what I started.

My profile has had a major overhaul and some important info you guys should be aware of. I need your feedback on this and the new poll I have up, or else nothing is going to change.

I love you all! And I am beyond sorry for making you all wait so long.

-Dg


	15. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Chaos…_Control!"_

In that instant, everything vanished. Everything, the ground, the sky, my truck, the _world_…gone in a howling rush of noise that roared in my head. I let go of Shadow's hand and clutched at my head. It was so loud…it hurt. It hurt!

"Shadow! Make it stop!"

No one answered me, or if they did, I couldn't hear them. The noise was so loud. It thundered through my skull, shattering my mind! Tears streamed down my face as I sank to my knees.

"Shadow! Please! Make it stop! _MAKE IT STOP_!"

Silence.

Sudden, sweet silence. It was like someone throwing a light switch, it was so abrupt. A soft, cool light filtered through my eyelids, and I cautiously raised my head.

A navy black sky studded with stars loomed above me , the world filled with a shimmering aurora of white and turquoise mist. No, I shouldn't have called them stars. They were more like bright spots of light, some far away, others close enough for me to touch.

I slowly stood up, open mouthed at the ethereal beauty that surrounded me. It was amazing…and slightly familiar…

"Am I dead?"

I didn't expect an answer, so I wasn't surprised when I didn't get one. All I heard was my voice echoing slightly. I looked around me and noticed that the pathway I stood on was made of a thick cluster of lights that twisted away and out of sight.

Of course, I was more focused on the not-exactly-ground I was standing on to really pay attention to other details. I swallowed.

_Elise_

My nervousness faded away and I lifted my head. I wasn't sure if I heard it or felt it, but something was calling me, calling me further down the path. Still aching from robot attack, I slowly stepped forward, following the…voice. At first I was careful, I mean, walking on balls of light didn't seem like the safest choice honestly. But the "ground" was solid, and I started walking faster. I didn't know where I was, or where I was going, but this place…it was too beautiful to be something sinister, too pure.

After who knows how long of walking I spoke again, since talking to myself is an unfortunate habit of mine.

"Where am I?"

"I thought you'd never ask!"

I jumped and spun around to see Sonic standing behind me. The misty light reflected on his quills and shined in his eyes, which were warm as he smiled at me.

"Hey."

…whut?

"Sonic?! But−but−but Shadow−he was−and I had−we were−what?!" I couldn't form complete sentences. Nothing was making sense right now!

Sonic grinned widely at my terrible attempts at communication and put a hand on his hip.

"Yeah, it's a bit confusing. But don't worry about it! This was supposed to happen. It was just a matter of when we decided on it."

I blinked, staring at him and feeling even more confused. "It…what?"

Sonic walked up to me, his big sneakers not making any noise against the light-ball-floor-stuff. He patted my back and said, with a small wink, "Follow me."

We walked farther down the path in silence. For once, Sonic didn't seem all that talkative, which was weird. He looked content, walking through this world with a smile on his face. Any fears that I still had were gone the moment Sonic showed up, but that left room for curiosity, and I was burning with it.

"So where are we?" I asked.

Sonic tilted his head, looking up at me with an amused gleam in his eyes. "Hmm…now that's kinda hard to explain. Do you have any ideas?"

I frowned. "Would I be asking if I knew?"

"No, but humor me."

I looked around again at the shimmering mist, the deep sky, and the floating lights.

"Limbo? The Drift? My head?"

Sonic laughed, the echoes bouncing away.

"You're kinda close, but not even close at all! But like I said," He added, seeing the face I was making, "Don't worry. You'll find out soon enough. You've proven that you're ready."

I was going to ask what that cryptic statement was supposed to mean, but the world suddenly changed. Images were suddenly floating by us as we walked, and my heart skipped a beat when I realized what was in them. Small pieces of my life were being displayed like scenes from a TV show.

Me smiling at Silvester in the classroom. Me grabbing Sam's hand and running from the seniors. Me being rescued by Shane in the library. Me seeing the hedgehogs for the first time. Me walking with Scooter and finding the emerald. Sonic carrying me as robots chased us. Silver sitting with me on my bed. Shadow holding my face and healing me.

I had no idea what to say at that moment. What do you say during moments like this, watching yourself as you resolve to help, as you draw your new inter-dimensional friends, as you help pull a hedgehog's overlarge sneaker out of a pair of jeans?

I finally looked back at Sonic, who was smiling at me and looking…proud?

"What is this?" I asked, my voice slightly hoarse.

Sonic looked at the images.

"Ah Elise…you've come such a long, long way."

…Oookay. I guess he was right in way. I had grown up a bit from the experiences I'd had, but I didn't think it was that significant.

"And we've watched you from that very first day."

I stopped with a jerk when I looked back up and saw Silver and Shadow standing before us. Silver was smiling, watching me with that same proud look that Sonic had. Shadow wasn't smiling, but his eyes were…were calm! Almost…serene?! No offence to him, but that was just freaky! I was so distracted that that last line took a second to sink in.

"What?"

Sonic went and stood next to Silver who said, "To see how you might grow."

What.

"To see what you might do." Shadow said, his deep voice no longer rough, but even.

What?

"To see what you've been through, and all the ways you've made us proud of you." Sonic said, grinning.

…At this point, I had no idea what was going on anymore. I managed to feebly croak "wha…?" before Silver spoke again.

"It's time now for a new change to come."

"Ch−change?"

Shadow nodded. "You've grown up−"

"And your new life has begun." Sonic finished, grinning.

Despite having a brain so very damaged my infinite confusion, I didn't really like where this was going.

Silver stepped closer. "To go where you will go."

"Huh?"

Shadow walked forward as well. "To see what you will see."

"Guys−?"

Sonic followed suit, his grin wide. "To find what you will be, for it's time for you to fulfill your destiny."

"What?!"

The three hedgehogs raised their arms and seven glowing gems appeared above us. I recognized the green and purple ones at once, which meant the other five were−

"The Chaos Emeralds?! But…but you said you didn't have them all!"

Honestly, that was a minor technicality since what I should have cared about was how the Chaos Emeralds were glowing with a golden light that was growing brighter and brighter.

Silver shrugged, looking a little sheepish. "Sorry for bending the truth Elise, but it was for your test."

"Test?! What are you−!"

I never finished my sentence. Suddenly, I was rising into the air, and the Chaos Emeralds started spinning around me. My voice caught in my throat when I felt it. I felt the power of Chaos surround me, and through it, the warmth of Sonic, Silver, and Shadow's intent. I closed my eyes as the light became blinding, letting myself go with the flow of energy.

It's hard to describe what came next. It felt like falling asleep while staying awake, wrapped in a blanket of warm water. It was so surreal, I knew that I'd never forget that sensation. I then felt solid ground beneath my feet, and I opened my eyes.

The ethereal world was gone and in it's place were rolling hills covered in lush grass and checkered paths beneath a dazzling blue sky. Once again, I was blown away by shock. I stared, seeing palm trees swaying in the breeze, waves cresting in the nearby ocean, and…and were those giant loop-de-loops in the distance?

"Congratulations Elise!"

I turned to see the hedgehogs standing behind me, only they weren't shorter than me anymore. I was shorter than them!

"Or should I say," Sonic continued with a mock bow, his eyes twinkling. "Elise the Cat!"

No. No way…

I looked down at my hands, large and covered with gloves. I looked at my tail that was swaying behind me, a small brown tuft at its tip. I reached up, feeling my furry muzzle, my small black nose, my large round eyes, and my huge, fuzzy, ears. My mouth fell open.

I was a cat.

I was one of them.

I looked back at them, at Shadow's calm searching gaze, at Silver's warm encouragement, and at Sonic's comforting smile, which widened into a joyful grin.

There was a pause, then slowly, I grinned back. Sonic held out his hand. I reached out to take it−

And suddenly fell out of bed as my alarm clock blared, 6:00 flashing in my eyes with the red glow of reality. Luckily, I missed my laptop where I'd stayed up watching a My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic season marathon. I shook my head, and in a mad scramble that was so ridiculous it needed it's own comedy show, I managed to crawl across my ever so cluttered room and shut the dang thing off!

I plopped down heavily onto my bed, blinking in the dark, trying to think while being so disoriented. Finally, it clicked, and I buried my face into my pillow.

"That's right!" I wailed.

"It's April Fool's Day!"

* * *

**Don't kill me.**

**April Fool's Day everyone! But while you sharpen your pitchforks and gather the mob torches, know that some(little)progress has been made on the real chapter! College is getting murderous as the end of the semester approaches, so hopefully the wait won't be too long!**

**Also...I can promise that this scenario will **NEVER** happen in the story. Ever.**


End file.
